


Five Times Venom Tried to Touch Eddie and the One Time He Wanted Them To

by RachelCraft



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, Little bit of hurt/comfort, M/M, Touching, exploration of touch, its a five times fic what do you expect, no beta we die like men, smut at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:48:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 24,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25596040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RachelCraft/pseuds/RachelCraft
Summary: Flipping the trope of Eddie always wanting to be the tactile one, here’s how Venom - through incident and gesture - coaxes Eddie to love the feel of a symbiote against his skin.Will end up somewhere smutty, but quite fluffy before that.
Relationships: Eddie Brock/Venom Symbiote
Comments: 109
Kudos: 992





	1. Chapter 1

Venom knew they had it good with Eddie. It wasn’t just about the genetic match - which was of course perfect, but on a planet as densely populated at this, hardly likely to be rare. No, Venom knew they had it good because of how Eddie treated them. Once he was over the shock, and people stopped trying to kill them every 5 minutes, he was a very amiable human. He called them ‘we’, rejoiced at their return after the rocket explosion, and seemingly had no problem with letting them live inside his body.

But more than being a consenting, wearable shell, Eddie actually cared. He nurtured them back to health when they were weak, made sure they got the right foods even if it wasn’t palatable to him, and talked and joked with them all day long. He taught them about life on Earth, took them places to see new things, let them try out new experiences, and was generally more indulgent to their curiosities than he probably should be. In short, Eddie tried to make Venom happy, and no one, no host or even other being of their own kind, had ever done that for them before. It made them feel a strange sort of warmness that they wanted to share.

There was one bad thing though. Out of all this wonderfulness, Eddie didn’t like it when Venom touched him. He seemed repulsed by it, always shuddering or slinking away when Venom attempted contact. It was frustrating as Eddie apparently had no qualms about grabbing them when he was angry or annoyed. But if Venom poked him with a tentacle, or ran a bit of themselves over his skin without warning, Eddie’s reaction was almost violent in his obvious dislike. 

“Don’t do that, please.”

 **_Do what?_ ** Venom asked, completely oblivious to what he was objecting to. They had been sitting on the sofa watching a movie for at least half an hour, and besides Eddie’s occasional swig of beer, neither of them had moved.

“This,” Eddie said, prying away a tendril that woven itself around his left hand, pinching it between his fingers like an icky bug, a look of disdain on his face.

 **_Sorry,_ ** Venom grumbled, withdrawing the tendril completely, and utterly annoyed with his hypocrisy.

Because when Eddie was asleep he had no problem with being touched. Venom felt they had every right to fully explore and understand the body they were in, and boy did they love exploring. Eddie’s skin was a cacophony of different textures that they spent endless nights studying. Some were sensitive, and full of nerve endings. Some were thick and calloused, designed to be tough and resistant. Some were surprisingly supple and smooth, others full of powerful muscle. Some weren’t even skin at all, just cartilage that human evolution created to serve one specific function. And the hair! So many different kinds of hair in different places, from gently curled eyelashes, to wiry sparse strands on his legs, and downy soft fuzz on the back of his neck.

They would glide over his skin testing out reactions from the tips of his toes (not very responsive), to the top of his head (surprisingly reactive) and everything in between. They never bothered with the soft squidgy bits below his navel though. Mostly because they weren’t very interesting, but also because of the one rule Eddie was adamant to enforce. 

No Venom in the bathroom.

It was the only thing Eddie insisted on. When he was in the bathroom he didn’t want to see, hear, or especially feel any part of Venom. It seemed to be more about embarrassment where Eddie was concerned. But having witnessed what did go on in that room, Venom was more than happy to leave him to it. It was all boring stuff they had no interest in, and considering how well they treated him elsewhere, wasn’t much of a big deal.

What was a big deal was how Eddie reacted to them in his sleep. Sometimes, if they caught it just right in his REM cycle, Venom could elicit some fascinating responses from Eddie with just a simple touch. The caress of a tentacle across his collarbone made him whimper, sliding their mass between his fingers made him grab at them greedily, but the most curious effects were always to do with his face. 

Ah, that face. Venom would happily admit to scrutinising it’s minutest detail. So many muscle groups and delicate nerves. The subtle range of emotions it could convey had been a joy to learn, and they knew there was still more to know. But they were pretty sure they had this one figured out.

When the timing was right, when Eddie sighed and groaned at the barest contact, they would place their hand against his face. It was a very human style hand, about the size of Eddie’s head and never without their claws, but it always got the best reaction. He would turn his face into that hand, nuzzle into it, and whine with furrowed eyebrows. Removing it for even a second caused far more distress than Venom could fathom, but it made them feel such joy to see Eddie, even in his unconscious state, searching for them. His unconscious mind sought out that hand, sought to feel more of it, and Venom could sense his desire for that touch. 

But it never went any further than that. Already Eddie was too close to waking up, and to push it any more would likely lead to harsh words that Venom didn’t want to hear. They cherished those moments when Eddie accepted their form. It made them feel wanted in a way that was never quite there when Eddie was awake. Because it wasn’t just skin on skin contact Eddie seemed to object to.

One late night, or more accurately, one very early morning, Eddie slouched back into the apartment in an exhausted daze. The fight they'd ended up in wasn’t worth talking about, but it had been a long one with very little sleep before. They had won in the end, but it hadn’t been easy, and even Venom’s feast afterwards hadn’t been enough to restore their energy.

Eddie stood in the middle of the room, caught in a state of trying to summon the energy to move. 

**_Should go to bed, Eddie._ **

“Yeah, I know. I will.” But he still just stood there.

Venom felt a bit bad for Eddie. His human had worked very hard over the past few days and suffered a fair amount in a situation that was mostly their fault. They manifested a little head and flopped onto his shoulder in sympathy. 

A shiver instantly rolled up Eddie’s neck, and he tried to hold back a grimace. Eddie rolled his shoulder, somewhat peeved.

“Come on, dude. Get off.”

**_Tired._ **

“Well go back inside then.”

**_Why?_ **

“Because you’re heavy, that’s why.”

He shrugged his shoulder again, leaning his head away, like using his hands would disgust him further. 

Venom narrowed their eyes, knowing it wasn’t true, but they really were too tired to argue. They still simmered with annoyance though.

**_Fine. But go to bed._ **

“I am.”

Venom slunk back under Eddie’s skin, and he shivered again, but at least he was with it enough now to actually start moving. 

Once he was settled under the covers, Eddie rolled onto his side and placed a hand where Venom had been. Almost a placating gesture for his earlier rudeness.

“We did good today, Venom,” Eddie said, mostly into the pillow. They hummed non-committedly in response. “No, we did. Lot of people got helped because of us. Because of you. It was worth it.”

There was a flicker of emotion from Venom’s side. A smile, maybe. It was enough to temper their irritation, and that would be enough for them both to get some rest. Eddie always found it hard to sleep when they were in a mood with him. Somehow their frustration would creep into the background and no matter how tired he was, it became a huge distraction that stopped him drifting off. 

And it happened more than he would like because he knew why they were annoyed. He knew why they simmered and stewed, and grumbled away with no obvious cause. He’d known the reason for ages, but couldn’t quite bring himself to fix the problem.

You see, the issue wasn’t that he actually hated being touched by Venom. It wasn’t why he pantomimed his disgust, why he pulled away from their affection.

The issue, was that he liked it far too much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, still plugging away at that Symbrock. And this will be my, what, 4th (5th-ish) fic about these two touching? Clearly it's a theme for me. This first chapter is pretty short, but the rest are longer. If this gets enough love I might actually post them. :D


	2. Chapter 2

The self-storage facility was in a bad part of town, which was probably why Simmons had chosen it in the first place. Lots of people willing to look the other way and deny that you even existed. The upshot of this was that security was slight and easily slipped past. A side door was all they needed. 

They were there on the slim hope that they would find some tangible evidence. Eddie was on the trail of a scam artist who targeted the elderly. The police might not think that losing a few hundred dollars to a con man was a big deal, but Eddie knew how much $300 meant to someone on a fixed income. And Simmons had a nasty habit of going after the most vulnerable and needy people he could find.

However, if you’re going to hustle money out of senior citizens, then you have to do it the old fashioned way with pen and paper. Eddie was hoping that Simmons was stupid enough to keep hard copies of his dealings, or a least some sort of physical trail they could find and share. If everything was on a computer he was probably screwed. He had zero hacking skills.

They waited for the sole security guard to finish passing before creeping further down the corridor. So far the only camera they’d spotted was at the reception desk, but Eddie kept his hoodie up anyway, leaving his face in darkness. Each of the storage units had a solid metal door with a number painted on it and a large padlock. Eddie hovered his hand close as a small tendril of Venom examined the lock and made quick work of the mechanism.

Eddie sometimes felt that Venom was like the ultimate Swiss Army knife, and they certainly had a knack for lock-picking. It actually seemed to be something they actively enjoyed, and Eddie definitely found a use for it. He never had to worry about forgetting his keys again.

The lock sprang open with a deep satisfying clunk, and they hurriedly stepped inside. There were no windows, and Eddie didn’t dare turn on the light, but he already had his torch in hand. It revealed a room full of filing cabinets with a table and chair in the middle. A tiny spark of hope ignited that they might just be able to find what they needed.

Taking off his backpack, he began rummaging inside. He had tried to come prepared, but his searching became more frantic, before he finally sagged his shoulders and cursed into the dark.

“Shit.”

**_What’s wrong?_ **

He let out a very heavy sigh. “I forgot the gloves.”

**_Eddie!_ **

“I know, I know. Must’ve left them by the sink.”

**_I asked you before we left if we had everything._ **

“I know you did! But you were also asking a million questions about the god-damned Kardashians like I should know anything about reality TV stars,” he hissed.

**_You should know about the Kardashians. They are influential people._ **

“They don’t influence me!” He snapped back. “Google could tell you everything you wanted to know. I don’t know why you’re so obsessed with them!”

**_They are entertaining._ **

“Well fat lot of good they’re doing us now.”

He sulked for a moment, annoyed by his own forgetfulness and by Venom making him use the gloves to do the washing up in the first place. He indulged their curiosity far too often.

**_But why do we need them?_ ** Venom asked after a little while. **_The gloves, I mean._ **

“Because no one’s supposed to know that we were here.”

**_No one knows that we are._ **

“But it’s just in case. I don’t want to be leaving evidence around. Getting caught won’t help Pearl or Harry.”

They had been Venom’s favourite OAP’s that Eddie had spoken to about the scam. Venom’s liking of certain people seemed totally random as far as Eddie was concerned, but it was part of their charm really. He couldn’t deny that they were actually a pretty good judge of character. Pearl had a collection of commemorative plates that had fascinated Venom, and Harry’s frequent offering of peanut butter cups meant he had easily made their top ten list of all humans. It was actually pretty easy to make that list if you knew how. 

**_I could be your gloves?_ **Venom suddenly offered.

Eddie started a bit at that. “What?”

**_You wouldn’t leave any fingerprints._ **

“Yeah, but I need control over my own hands, bud.”

Venom let out a frustrated growl. **_You would not be using my hands, I would simply be covering yours._ **

“So I would still be able to feel and move and stuff?”

**_Yes._ **

Eddie mulled it over. As weird as it would be, it’d beat going home and having to come back again. It felt like it would be pushing their luck to return a second time. He supposed he didn’t have much choice.

“Okay then,” he sighed. He placed his torch on the table and held out his hands, bracing himself for the worst. A little thrill of excitement that wasn’t his, zipped up his spine.

In the heat of the moment when people were shouting and guns were firing, Eddie never really noticed what being covered with Venom felt like. The whole thing was sort of an out of body experience. He wasn’t in control of any of it, and then Venom’s instincts took over to do most of the fighting. There was never really any time to actually think about how it felt, but there was time now.

And the bizarre thing was that it didn't really feel like anything - except maybe dunking his hands into warm water. It happened so quickly that one moment his hands were there and the next they looked like they were dipped in black ink. He could only suppose this felt different as it wasn't really a full 'suiting up' as Eddie had named it in his mind.

He moved his hands closer to the light to get a better look. The covering was very thin like latex, but still ended in Venom’s trademark claws at the tips. Eddie flexed his fingers and rubbed them against his thumbs, marvelling a little bit at the silken texture he could feel trapped between them. He then tapped one of the claws against the table top. It wasn’t sharp and didn’t leave a mark, but he could feel it like it was his own nail that had done it. He then ran that fingertip across the surface of the desk, and every dent and groove trailed over his skin like he wasn’t wearing anything at all.

“This is wild,” he whispered, with just a hint of awe. He’d never had so much sensation when Venom was covering him. Usually he didn’t want it, and he didn’t want to know what Venom had done to his brain so this was possible, but this was kind of exciting. 

**_Yes, I’m amazing, and now we have work to do._ **

“Yeah, right,” Eddie said, snapping out of his daze. He looked about the room. “Where to start?”

A tentacle snatched up the torch from the table and pointed it to the first cabinet on the left. 

**_How about here?_ **

“As good a place as any.”

Pressing a finger to the keyhole at the top, Venom quickly worked the lock and continued to hold the torch aloft so Eddie could see. The first drawer was full of identical folders, and each one was unmarked. 

“Okay…” Eddie said, somewhat confused. He pulled out the very first file and opened it to find plenty of printed pages, photocopies by the looks of it. Jackpot! But then he realised that parts of it had been redacted. In fact, a lot of it had been redacted. Every single name and address had been redacted. All that was left was bank account details and transfer amounts.

Eddie closed his eyes, crestfallen.

**_Try another one, Eddie._ **

They did. They tried the drawer underneath to find exactly the same, the next file cabinet too. Every file cabinet. Twelve filing cabinets full of unmarked folders and redacted information.

He slumped against the table. This was an impossible task. He only had the financial information of a few people, and it looked like the only way to get the evidence they needed was to search through every file till they found a match. 

**_What do we do now, Eddie?_ **

“Start reading, I guess.”

He went back to the first cabinet and took the first five folders out, sat at the table and began comparing numbers. He tried his best to keep things in the order in which he found them, just in case there was a system he couldn’t see, and he would admit that Venom’s gloves were helping enormously. Whatever they were doing was making it very easy to turn the pages, and the claws were very handy for picking through the folders.

And while most of the information was missing, there did seem to be a pattern emerging. Simmons would start small, taking amounts less than $10 here and there, and then steadily build up to larger sums. Some of the pages easily totaled thousands of dollars stolen over a number of years, and if all of these cabinets were full of his victims, Simmons was far richer than Eddie had given him credit for.

He wondered if there was something in that that he could use, and thoughtfully scratched his chin. Then he kept on scratching his chin. 

And his jaw. 

And his neck. 

The tips of Venom’s claws felt amazing running through his stubble, reaching his skin in a way his nails never could. They were sharp enough to cause that pleasant burn, but dull enough to not do any damage. He closed his eyes, tired from reading small print by torchlight, and lost himself in the sensation. 

His movements became slower, more luxurious. The glide of his fingers was verging on hypnotic. How could something be so smooth and sharp at the same time? His skin seemed to zing after each caress as though it was as confused as him by the contrasting feelings. 

He moved to the other side of his face giving it the same amount of attention, pushing those claws into the space behind his ear, just itching to go into his hair. His head dipped back as he brought them across his throat, dancing over his Adam's apple and heading towards his clavicle, dragging them over such a vulnerable spot.

**_Eddie?_ **

"Huh? What?” he asked, his head snapping forward and his eyes springing open. He jabbed his hands into his lap and curled them into fists, like he hadn’t been doing anything amiss.

**_Why are we reading the files for Bayview when no one we spoke to lives there?_ **

It took him a moment to remember what he had been doing before he’d taken his little _stimulating_ break. “What? What are you talking about?”

He rapidly scanned the page looking for how Venom could have gotten this information. It wasn’t written anywhere. 

**_It says at the top of the page, Bayview, 1238 Palou Avenue, Ramearez._ **

“No it doesn’t.”

**_It does._ **

“Where!?”

Venom huffed out a sigh, and suddenly he could feel them starting to cover his head.

“Er, Venom…?”

**_Just look._ **

He blinked a few times, realising that they had only gone as far as covering his eyes. They were right, it was there, written in the white space at the top. It wasn’t the only thing written there either. The whole page was covered in notes which seemed to shimmer in Venom’s vision. The next page was the same, and the next. Everything that was redacted had been written back in, but it was invisible to the naked eye. Which meant…

Eddie slowly tilted his head up to the fluorescent light on the ceiling, the one he hadn’t dared turn on.

“No way,” he whispered. Was it that simple? 

He wasted no time in getting over to the light switch and flicking it up. At first he was blinded, his eyes so accustomed to the dark that even a dim bulb flooded his senses. But once Venom had removed themselves, he was greeted by the sight of a purple room lit up with neon scribbles. Everything was labeled. The pages, the folders, even the cabinets.

But also, his hands were glowing. Not in the usual way skin and nails glow under blacklight, but a sort of effervescent glimmer that pulsed along silvery veins to the end of his fingers. It was sort of mesmerising. Was this how Venom saw themselves?

**_What does this mean Eddie?_ **

“Huh? Oh, it’s a UV light. Shows things that humans can’t see.” He shook his head. “Wait. You can see in ultraviolet?. Why didn’t _you_ tell me all this was here?! I was reading for, like, an hour!”

**_It was not an hour!_ **

“Venom! You could have told me I was looking in the wrong place!”

**_I thought you knew!_ **

“How would I know? I can’t see in ultraviolet!”

**_Then you are clearly the weaker species for it._ **

Eddie clenched his fists in frustration, but Venom squished through his fingers in such an oh so pleasant way that he quickly stopped that and got on with finding the files they did need. Many photos on his phone later, Eddie knew he had Simmons’ goose well and truly cooked. It was a joy to sneak back out into the night, grinning like a loon.

He was still in such a good mood when they got back home that he didn’t mind Venom’s demands for tater tots or asking to watch trash TV. The only thing Eddie wanted was a beer and a shower before bed. 

As per their rule, Venom completely disappeared as Eddie stepped into the bathroom. Not a sight, not a sound. Total privacy as far as he was concerned. He let the water run as he stripped, inspecting his reflection and debating if he needed a shave. He figured it could wait till morning and stepped into the shower. 

It was a nice feeling knowing that he’d got his man, and it was hard not to keep smiling when justice was coming. In between singing half-remembered verses of a 90’s song they’d played on whatever show Venom had been watching, he was already starting to compose his article. But perhaps that was why as he lathered up the shampoo, he didn’t quite notice that something was different. He only noticed that for some reason his fingers felt amazing. 

He worked them harder into his scalp, his nails feeling like firm nubs kneading into his skin. It was like a massage, and he slowed down his motions to enjoy it more. 

He hummed out an appreciative moan as he spread his fingers wider, really pressing his thumbs into the base of his skull. Why did this feel so good? Why did his fingers feel so different? He wanted to do this all over his body, work the soap into every crevice and lavish attention on every centimeter of skin. It had been so long since he’d had any sort of physical contact like this, too long really, and he surprised himself with how much he missed it. It’s not like he was a regular when it came to massages, but he had wonderful memories of going for a couples session with Anne, or even treating himself to a sports massage after a heavy workout and he always left feeling glorious.

He worked the back of his head most of all, dragging his fingers through the shorter hairs there, loving the feel of them against his claws. He moved down to the back of his neck, pressing them into the muscles and practically digging his thumbs into his throat.

And that’s when it felt horribly familiar.

Instantly he whipped his hands away from his body and snapped open his eyes to find the black gloves were back.

“No, NO!” he yelled, flinging his arms about as though Venom was something he actually could throw off. “Stop it! Stop this now!” Shampoo ran into his eyes making them sting and his vision blurry. He shut them against the pain.

**_I’m sorry, Eddie._ **

“No. You know the rules! Not in here, not ever! What made you think you had the right?” 

**_Before, you liked-_ **

“I didn’t like a damn thing. You don’t get to do this. Give me my hands back. NOW!” His voice reverberated harshly against the tiles, amplifying his outrage.

There was a pause.

**_I’m sorry,_ ** they mumbled, sounding further away and really quite mournful. But Eddie didn’t have time for that. They knew they were in the wrong.

Cracking open an eye, he found that his hands were indeed once more his own. 

“Fucking parasite,” he grumbled as he furiously washed the soap from his eyes, ignoring the stab of hurt that came from Venom’s direction. Every drop of his good mood had gone down the drain along with the water. It no longer mattered that they’d had a successful night, that some evil dude was going to get taken down without the need for violence. Venom had violated his trust and consent. It was one simple basic rule, and they had broken it. 

He spent the rest of the night in an angry silence, not acknowledging anything they did, and basically pretending like he didn’t have a symbiote at all. Venom soon got the point and stopped trying to apologise. 

But the worst part, the absolute worst part Eddie decided as he lay in bed trying to sleep, was just how _god-damned amazing_ it had felt. His skin tingled with the memory of it. He was still furious at Venom for what they had done, but he was coming to realise that he was actually more angry with himself. It had been _achingly_ good, and he had enjoyed it so much. So much more than he was willing to admit. 

But it wasn’t right. He shouldn’t want that kind of contact from Venom. He was a human and only humans should get to touch him. It was wrong to want to be physically intimate with an alien. And it was most definitely wrong to secretly want for it to happen again…

… wasn’t it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos is great, but comments make my day. :D


	3. Chapter 3

They couldn’t save her.

They barely even knew her, but they couldn’t save her.

She had been a casual acquaintance, someone Eddie had seen around the office and chatted to a few times. She was easy to talk to, the kind of bright personality who invited conversation, and always smiled when they saw you. A freelance photographer still finding her feet, she had moved from Texas a few years ago with her two cats to follow a dream, and still had that southern drawl to her speech. Venom always liked to hear it. It was soothing in a way they didn’t know how to describe.

But now she was gone. And she had taken her voice with her.

It had been, of all things, a bank robbery. They stumbled into it by accident, completely by chance they turned the corner and came across the scene. It was only when they had seen her inside, one of the hostages herded away from the windows, that they had tried to help. It had all gone wrong far too quickly after that. The scumbag wasn’t even in it for the money, he just wanted to make a scene that ended in a bloodbath. Venom had been sure he got his wish, but not quick enough to stop him from shooting. One of the bullets went wild and they missed it. They would always remember that they missed it.

Crawling through the open window into the dark apartment, Venom melted away leaving Eddie a few feet inside, hunched over and completely still. He stared into the middle distance, not really looking at anything, barely even blinking. His eyes were glazed and unfocused, his thoughts entirely elsewhere.

Who would look after her cats now? Had they been fed today? Did anyone even know she had them? Had her parents been informed? Who would be the one to tell them how it happened? How would they break this at work? Would anyone even notice that she was no longer around? Why hadn’t they been faster? Was it him who slowed Venom down? Was he being too distracting? What chance did they miss? Why did she have to die?

After a few minutes when he still hadn’t moved, Venom formed a half torso in front of him, but Eddie continued to stare right through them as though they weren’t there.

**“Eddie?”** , they cautiously asked.

His eyes slowly came up to meet theirs, and they were shining. The look on his face was that silent kind of anguish, a plea for something that Venom didn’t know how to answer. This was not the first civilian they had lost, and it always hit Eddie hard, but this was the first time it had been someone they knew, however briefly.

There had to be a precedent for this, some way that Venom should be acting. They looked through his memories, trying to find a similar situation so they could figure out how to help, but the only one they found seemed to come from long ago.

It was very fuzzy, and there was pain involved - a banged knee. And a woman had been there, someone soft and warm and kind. She smiled down at Eddie, and told him words, “ _ There, there. No need to cry. Shall I kiss it better?  _ ” ‘Kissing it better’ seemed like an odd idea, but what she did next seemed to soothe the hurt away. She wrapped him up in her arms and held him tight to her bosom. The pain was soon forgotten.

There was another vague memory after that, a different woman with an air of authority about her. A teacher, who was being nice, but there was a distance to her actions. Later, when Eddie was older, he was no longer allowed to show he was hurt. Tears were only met with angry words and a coldness that meant Eddie only sought comfort behind closed doors from those he trusted.

And Eddie trusted Venom. 

He was frozen to the spot, his face becoming more pained by the moment, his eyes filling up more and more. His mind was racing, but his body wouldn’t move. He couldn’t save her.

**“Eddie,”** Venom tried again.  **“Would you like a hug?”**

There was something, an expression so small and so quick that anyone else would have missed it. But Venom didn’t. It was a confirmation, a  _ ‘yes, please’ _ , mixed with conflict and guilt over needing such a thing in the first place. And especially needing it from an alien who didn’t really understand the concept of hugs in the first place.

But Venom wanted to help, so they wrapped their long, strong arms around him as tight as they dared, and pulled him close to their chest. And Eddie didn’t resist. He pushed his body into theirs, and let his tears spill over. 

He needed this, oh god, how he needed this. In that moment it didn’t matter that it was Venom, that an alien lifeform was touching him. He was beyond caring about it. There was something in his core that had been screaming out for this ever since he was 12 and his father proved how uncaring he was for his own son. Not even Anne had hugged him like this. True, he’d never been in this kind of emotional state with her, but cuddles were cute and intimate things, not soul comforting like this was. It went deep, so much deeper than he knew a hug could go, and that made the loss all the more acute. 

He felt raw, and shaky, and hated himself for failing. He had failed her, failed her family, her cats. All that life she was going to live, shining her way through the world was extinguished, and there was no way to get it back. So he stood with his arms pinned to his side by Venom’s hold, and cried silently into their shoulder. That’s how he did all his crying. He didn’t know another way to do it. And Venom didn’t say anything. Didn’t grumble, didn’t complain about his tears getting them wet. They just let Eddie ride out his feelings till his legs felt weak, and then gently lowered him to his knees. 

After a little while longer, Eddie found himself reaching round to hug Venom back. He pulled them in even closer, and buried his face into their simulation of a body. They felt cool against his cheek, like the other side of the pillow, that strange, silky texture holding firm against him. 

The first night they had met, Eddie’s only impression of what Venom felt like had been cold and slimy. But that was mostly due to the river they had just ended up in. He later realised that they weren’t slimy at all, just unfathomably smooth with a temperature that fluctuated depending on how far away they were from his body. Anything right against his skin was indistinguishable from his own, so much so that he could barely feel it. But anything that protruded outwards, anything not rooted to his skin, quickly dissipated any and all heat. 

They were like that now, their connection somewhere around his hips meaning their surface wasn’t at all warm, but he welcomed it. He welcomed all of it. There was a comfort in it now, a familiarity that felt like safety. And Venom always did keep him safe. They kept him cocooned away from harm, wrapped up like some precious thing. Though he hadn’t really liked to think about it, there was a certain serenity that came with being inside Venom. They were a team, but during those moments, he was not in control. That burden of responsibility was ever so slightly lifted from his shoulders, and he wanted that feeling now. He wanted to bathe in it, wanted to feel safe and secure like his guilty conscience wasn’t trying to eat away his insides. So he pressed his face closer, seeking that serenity out. 

And Venom seemed to oblige. They moved a hand to cradle the back of his head, and lightly rested their cheek upon it, and Eddie was suddenly flooded with a wave of yearning for a person lost long ago. And it wasn’t even so much for the person - who had been fading from his memory for some time - it was for that bubble she radiated. That calm, caring bubble that she swept him up into at a slightest upset. It was purely about soothing away his emotional distress and getting him back up on his feet again.

Eddie realised he could have that again, now. He could have that intimate, non-romantic touch that works wonders for the body and mind, but is so regularly denied for most people these days. It took him away from his pain for a moment, the idea that this could be his. And knowing Venom, they would always give it to him.

It was both a wonderful and scary thought. He shouldn’t want this. He told himself he only desired physical contact from another human being, not some tentacle monster from space. But who would ever have arms as long and strong as Venom? Who would be able to wrap him up so completely and so perfectly to put him at ease? Who else could know his mind well enough to give him exactly what he needed, when he needed it? 

This was all far too heavy to deal with right now, not after a day like this. With a shuddering breath, Eddie finally allowed his mind to settle, but he didn’t let go. Neither of them did.

“Thank you,” he eventually whispered.

**“We will save the next one,”** Venom reassured. 

They fell back into silence, the city hum coming in through the still open window. Yes, they would save the next one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a heavy one this, but gotta get in that sweet sweet hurt/comfort somewhere. It's just too delicious!
> 
> Kudos is great, but comments make my day. :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told you there would be longer chapters. :D

“God-damed, fucking ass and balls.”

Eddie rummaged through the backpack again like it would return a different result. His used sweatpants were there, his empty water bottle was there, and the hand towel he’d thrown in moments before, was there. But an item definitely was not there that should have been there, and most definitely was there when he’d closed the locker.

**_Who would steal your hoodie?_ **

“Some fucking low-life scum, that’s who.”

He growled and slammed the locker door, which only bounced back open from the force. So he angrily shut it again and leant against it with his arms crossed, face set to scowl. It was probably a good thing they were alone in the changing rooms right now.

Eddie ground his teeth. That hoodie had been one of his favourites. The perfect thing to wear post-workout - not too hot, not too cold, nice and soft against his skin. He couldn’t remember where he had gotten it, and the label had long since faded with repeated washings to ever trace it down, otherwise he would have brought another as a spare. But now he only had the sweat damp vest he was wearing to walk back home in.

“They were probably looking for my wallet, and took it instead just to be vindictive,” he grumbled.

He was lucky, in a sense, that he never took his wallet to the gym in the first place - not that there would have been much in there to steal these days anyway. Eddie’s chosen gym wasn’t exactly a high-end establishment, and he was fairly certain it was actually a front for something illegal. But what it lacked in security it made up for in convenience, cheap fees, and a very decent set of weights. Venom couldn’t understand why Eddie still came here, but he insisted it was the ritual of the thing, and it made him feel better after all the junk food they ended up eating. 

At least he wouldn’t have to worry about canceling and replacing his cards. His emergency $5 in a hollowed out lip balm tube was still in the bag, but that wouldn’t cover a cab ride home. Already the thought of going out in the chill rain was making him shiver. 

He let out a very heavy sigh. “Guess we better get going.”

**_But what about you hoodie?_ **

“It’s gone, Vee. Not coming back.” 

Eddie dejectedly turned back to the locker to retrieve his remaining things, but Venom was very quietly being stunned. He had never called them ‘Vee’ before. It had always been ‘bud’, or ‘dude’, or ‘mate’. Always ‘Venom’, never ‘Vee’. They had a nickname! It gave them a surge of confidence to suggest something they never normally would.

**_I could be your hoodie._ **

Eddie spluttered out a surprise which turned into a cough. “I’m sorry?” he said once he had recovered.

**_If you walk back in the rain in your current state you will be cold and miserable, which means that I will end up cold and annoyed. So I will pretend to be your hoodie until we are back in the apartment. That way you stay dry and I don’t have to put up with your moods._ **

Eddie wanted to protest that last bit, but yeah, if he was going to walk home like this, he would be grumpy the rest of the night. But since when could Venom make themselves look like clothes? Eddie knew they were pretty darn flexible, but they’d never actually mimicked anything real before.

“Wait, you can do that? Make yourself look like my hoodie?”

 **_I have been paying attention these past months. Your simple clothing wouldn’t be hard to replicate._ ** They tried to pass off the information as nonchalantly as they could, gently coaxing Eddie into making the choice they wanted. If they pressed too hard he would balk, and they were unlikely to get this chance again. **_So, would you like me to do that?_ **

Eddie paused. On the surface it seemed like a simple decision, an easy one in fact. But really it went quite a lot deeper. This wasn’t some battle situation where he accepted Venom covering his body without question because that was what was needed. This was something else. This was needed, but not necessary. And added to that, there would be a lot of skin contact. Like, _a lot_ of skin contact. In only a vest, it would be so much more intimate than any normal situation. The gloves had been one thing, but this would be basically his entire top half with only a thin layer of cotton between them. And the slightly worrying thing about that was how Eddie briefly wondered if he should take that off too.

He swallowed thickly and rubbed the back of his neck.

“Uh, well, yeah, I guess. We don’t have much choice, I suppose,” he eventually mumbled.

Venom did their best to hide the little jubilant flip they did inside him.

“Er, let’s just…” He looked around the room double-checking they were alone, but still decided to go into a cubicle anyway. Placing his bag on the floor, he faced the mirror and let out a nervous breath. “Ok,” he raised his arms a little. “Show me what you got.”

Venom bloomed from his skin like an inkblot, running rivulets across his body until they were a solid mass. Eddie watched amazed as their abstract shape of a hoodie slowly became more refined. The lines became crisper, the edges more defined. And then they went further, creating cuffs, a front pocket, and what even looked like little dangling laces with aglets for the hood - the weight of which was quickly building at the base of his neck.

When Venom seemed to have settled in their shape, Eddie let out a low whistle. He did a little turn in the mirror, appreciating Venom’s skill. It really did look like a hoodie. Sure, the material was a bit weird, quite shiny and veined with silver, but the ‘fabric’ hung like it was supposed to. Which was actually very different to how it felt. 

There was this quirk that Eddie had noticed about whenever Venom manifested. He rarely ever felt the specific point where they emerged from his body as it was the exact same temperature as himself. But this time, for whatever reason, Eddie could feel Venom all over him. 

It was like he was wearing a skintight shirt made of lycra that was hugging every contour of his body. There was a pressure and a weight against his exposed skin that he never normally felt when Venom covered him. But he had to suppose that he had always been clothed up to this point, and quite usually distracted by something else. Even over his cotton vest he felt it, albeit to a lesser, effect.

And yet when he lifted his arms, he could see the way that Venom sagged and looked loose. He shook them a little, marveling at how they mimicked the material so well. The whole hoodie looked loose, but he might as well as have been poured into a body mold. Without even thinking he ran his hands down his chest, feeling the thickness of them under his palms. They were so silky smooth beneath his fingers, and yet seemed somewhat pliable. He pressed his hands in, and upon removing them, a momentary hand print was left behind. 

A little shiver ran up his spine, but he didn’t know who it belonged to.

**_Do you like it?_ **

“I think it’s amazing.”

Venom beamed a little at the praise. ** _What if I added these?_**

Two large opal eyes opened over his chest. Eddie smiled. It did actually look quite cool, if not a little menacing.

“I think it would be great until someone saw you blink.”

**_I do not blink._ **

“But then what if I did this?” and he gently poked Venom in the eye.

 **_Hey!_ ** Venom grumbled, but Eddie laughed.

“Sorry, sorry,” he chuckled, smoothing his hands over the area, and feeling that delicious silkiness again. The eyes closed after that, but Eddie didn’t stop moving his hands until a thought struck him.

“Could I…?” he asked, reaching towards the hood. It flipped up on its own accord, and he could feel the cooler part of Venom attaching themself to the back and top of his head, molding to his skull and quickly warming. But they left his ears free, and the rest of the hood stood rigid around his face. It almost felt like it was being cupped by two large hands. 

The bizarre thing was though that when Eddie had moved his arms, he hadn’t felt any friction. Venom had moved with him, it had just been one smooth glide. It was slightly unsettling, but extremely intriguing. He couldn’t think of a single thing in the world that could compare to it.

“You sure you can keep this up?” he asked. “I don’t want you suddenly dissolving halfway home.”

**_It isn’t hard to maintain, but will be easier if I can concentrate._ **

“Oh, right. Sorry.” He bent over to pick up his backpack, but paused before putting the strap over his shoulder. “Are you going to be ok with me putting this on?”

 **_Eddie_ ** , Venom chided. **_I can repel bullets. A backpack is nothing._ **

“Oh, yeah, right,” Eddie replied, feeling sheepish. 

He slung over one strap and looked again in the mirror, tilting his head from side to side testing out Venom’s ability to crease. Could they really get away with this? It felt like a brazen move, one that was just asking for trouble. What if Venom got spooked by a noise, or someone bumped into them? Could he trust them to behave all the way home? Could he trust himself? 

He could feel stirrings of something he didn’t want to acknowledge rising at the back of his mind; thoughts he shouldn’t be having about a friend, let alone an alien. There’s nothing wrong with wanting companionship, but you mustn’t go looking for it in places it doesn’t exist. 

He shook his head, batting those feelings away. This was fine, no big deal. Just a good buddy doing a favour for a friend who had their clothes stolen. It was for mutual benefit. No need to make it into anything more. 

**_Ready to go?_ **

Just stay casual and cool. Nothing strange about it. 

“Yeah, ready.”

Stepping out into the rainy street, Eddie was instantly blasted with a gust of cold, wet air, and he turned his head away, but he had barely felt any of it. He stood for a moment letting the rain fall on him, and watching Venom repel it all like a waterproof coat. With more confidence he began walking, keeping his head down until he realised that Venom had subtly extended the hood to keep the rain off his face. They really were quite good at keeping him protected. 

They were also doing a stellar job of keeping him warm. The air was cold and damp, but he felt great, the perfect temperature. So he stood up straighter, no longer hunching his shoulders against the wind, maybe even enjoying the weather a little instead of just hurrying through it.

But his fingers were still exposed. His hands were balled up into fists, one hanging onto the strap of his bag, and the other trying to retreat into the sleeve cuff - while somehow having gotten some of it woven between his fingers.

If this was any other night he would have simply stuffed them into the pocket of his hoodie, but his hoodie was Venom. He’d be sticking his hands _into_ Venom, and that didn’t feel quite right.

But why would it feel wrong? He was inside Venom a lot - he was technically inside them now - so why would a pocket be any different? It probably wasn’t even a real pocket, he reasoned, just something Venom made for show, like the hood laces which didn’t move at all. He was ok. He could endure this until they got home. 

**_Eddie, would like some gloves?_ **

“Huh? No, I’m fine,” he mumbled.

**_But your hands are getting cold._ **

“No, it’s fine. I’m ok.”

**_Then why not use the pocket I made for you?_ **

“Because, er, because I need to keep my bag on.” He shrugged his shoulder for emphasis.

**_I can hold your bag. Use the pocket._ **

“No, I’m good. Honestly.”

He wasn’t. There was a numbness setting in.

**_Eddie, don’t be an idiot._ **

“I’m not. I’m genuinely fin--Ah!” Eddie yelped as his arms suddenly forced his hands into the front pocket, and wouldn’t let him pull them out. “Vee! Stop that!” he hissed, trying to heave his hands free, but they were completely sealed in.

**_Oh stop complaining. It’s only until we get home._ **

Struggling was useless. The only thing it would achieve is making a scene about a guy whose hands were stuck inside his sweater. So he relented and let out a long breath as he straightened up.

“Fine,” he spat out through gritted teeth.

So now his hands were inside Venom and there was nothing he could do about that. But for some reason he decided that as long as he kept his thumbs gripped in a tight fist and his hands perfectly still, this was ok. Not weird at all. 

He continued walking, barely noticing that his bag was actually not slipping from his shoulder at all because he was far more focused on how Venom had chosen to not make this into an ordinary pocket.

It was blissfully warm inside, possibly hotter than his body temperature, and it didn’t take long for Eddie’s resolve to weaken and spread his fingers out into that heat. But when he moved them there was a resistance. His hands really were inside Venom and they were reforming around him as he rearranged his fingers. No, they did more than just reform, they _hugged_ him. They filled in the gaps between each digit where Eddie had forgotten that the skin was actually quite sensitive, and pressed into it. This was more than the gloves, more than their battle suit. This was a thick, heavy liquid that squirmed against him and reacted to his every move. It was just so _alive_. 

Even if he had wanted to, he couldn’t stop himself from balling up his hands inside that living goo and squeezing Venom out like a fistfull of mud. It was so incredibly satisfying, and felt so amazing. So he did it again. And again; leisurely spreading his fingers out, and dragging them back in - basically kneading his stomach except never actually touching it. He suddenly understood why slime had been such a craze, but he bet that no one had a slime as good as his.

Strangely though, Venom wasn’t commenting on what he was doing. They were normally the first to point out when he did - what seemed to them, as something weird. But not a peep, not a word, not even a stray question mark. Maybe they were just concentrating too hard to notice, or maybe they didn’t mind?

Eddie was momentarily distracted when he felt a vibration against his hip, and went to pull his hand free to get his phone. But then he realised that it wasn’t his phone because the vibration wasn’t just at his hip. It was all over. His whole top half was gently rumbling like a low frequency massager. Was Venom… purring? And was he the cause?

The wind suddenly changed direction and blew freezing drops into the gap between his chin and the top of the hoodie. Eddie shied away from the intrusion ducking his head into his shoulder. He was about to make some glib remark, but then the chill stopped. Looking down his nose, Eddie could see the collar where the hood ‘joined’ on was rising. It was building itself up like a shield in front of his neck, and by the time it reached his chin, Eddie’s eyes were a little wide.

“Er, how high are you planning on making that, Vee?”

**_As high as it needs to be. This garment is designed very inefficiently for this weather. I am improving it._ **

It eventually stopped just below his nose. Eddie caught sight of himself in a dark shop window as they passed, and he grinned. They looked faintly ridiculous being a black void with no hands and only an open slot for his eyes. But it’s not like anyone else was looking, and he was warm and dry, so he wasn’t complaining. 

And also Venom was now tantalisingly close to his lips.

He was suddenly overcome with the desire to find out what they would feel like against his lips.

It wouldn’t take much to make contact. If he jutted his chin out a little more. Maybe a bit of a pout? He knew they would just be as silky soft as the rest of them. And he bet it would feel so nice. It always felt nice when they touched him. He always protested the opposite, but he knew he had liked it the moment they had booped his nose on the buoy. They were technically touching him now, but it wasn’t the same. A weighted blanket doesn’t compare to a delicate caress. He wanted it to be intentional, to be meant. 

But why did he suddenly want this? It made no sense. Was he that desperate and touch-starved that anyone, any _thing_ would do? 

He tried to refocus, to think of something else - sports, news, his next assignment, but he kept coming back to that part of Venom in front of his face. He was making himself go cross-eyed looking at it. He couldn’t understand why the idea had suddenly become so alluring, but he couldn’t shake it. It was overpowering his reason. 

And they were so close. Just right there, almost _begging_ to be kissed.

No, not kissed. He wasn’t going to kiss them. He was just going to rub his lips against them - which somehow sounded worse. But he was yearning for it now. Every step he took matched his pounding heart if he was just bold enough to do it. 

He was zeroed in on them. His entire world was just the hum of Venom, his moving hands, and those few centimetres of space between his mouth and the part of them he so desperately wanted to touch.

**_Eddie?_ **

Fuck. Shit.

“Y-yes?”

**_Where are we going?_ **

Eddie stopped walking at that.

“Er, home.”

**_But this isn’t the way home._ **

“Yeah it….” He looked around. He had no idea where they were. “Oh.”

He looked for a street sign, but none were within sight. They were clearly not where they were supposed to be though. So without any fanfare, he did a 180 and started walking back in the direction they had come.

“Why didn’t you say anything earlier?”

**_I was busy concentrating. Why didn’t you notice?_ **

“Because, er…” 

_I was too busy being distracted by your physical presence and my sudden desire to rub my face in it to pay attention to my surroundings._

“...I was just thinking about... stuff.”

Eventually he spotted something familiar and course corrected. They hadn’t strayed too far. 

Taking a deep breath he pushed all thoughts about his lips and running Venom over them to the back of his head, and concentrated on getting them back to the apartment. His hands had gone still too, and the purring seemed to have stopped with it. Whatever moment they were having was over. It was for the best, he told himself, but he didn’t really believe it.

After another 5 minutes, Eddie realised his vision was being restricted. The peaked hood that had been keeping the rain off his face was starting to droop, and his neck shield was flopping forward letting in stray drops of rain.

He looked closer at his hoodie and the fine details were starting to vanish. The stitching was gone, as were the laces. 

“You okay, Vee?”

 **_Getting tired,_ ** came their reply.

“Well, not far now. Just need to keep it up for a little further.”

He quickened his pace. They were starting to droop all over now. They were still flush against his skin, but all rigidity was gone. They were sagging in places fabric wasn’t supposed to sag.

“Come on, Vee. You can do it!”

He balled up his hands again for emphasis, and a thrum seemed to pass through them. They tightened up to a passable state, so he began kneading once more, but much more swiftly.

Eddie was all but running now. His hands were alternating movements inside the pocket, and it was a wonder he didn’t fall over, but he could feel Venom slipping. Not physically, but there was a fading of concentration that radiated towards him. It was an odd thing to experience, but rather equivalent to reaching that point in a lift when your arms are starting to give out.

“Nearly there, nearly there!” he shouted encouragingly. 

The apartment block was in sight. There were patches of skin showing on his biceps now, and his hood was looking more like a wig. But what luck! Someone was just leaving, so he shouldered his way through the closing door and sprinted up the stairs.

Panting in front of his apartment, backpack slipping off his arm, Eddie pushed his elbow against the lock. Venom worked quickly and Eddie used the same elbow to push the door open. He closed it with his foot and was about to yell a triumphant ‘We made it!’ when Venom totally vanished inside him.

He was left standing with his hands still in front of his stomach, backpack dangling from his wrist, and mouth open.

“Oh.”

He sounded so disappointed. Why was he disappointed?

**_Oh?_ **

“I mean, oh!” He slapped his hands against his upper arms. “It’s so cold in here!”

And truthfully it was. Without Venom’s protective layer, his mostly bare torso was suddenly exposed to the chill air of the room, which wasn’t helped by his damp sneakers and pants. He was already breaking out in goosebumps.

“Gotta get that heater on.”

He dumped his bag and fiddled with the settings. He needed the sudden distraction or else he was going to linger on why he was so crestfallen that Venom had stuck exactly to the word of their agreement. It wasn’t because he wanted them to stick around outside his body. It wasn’t.

After some percussive maintenance, he got some hot air to start blowing through. Smelled pretty musty though. And apparently, it wasn’t the only thing with an odour. 

**_You should have a shower, Eddie. You stink._ **

“Thanks for that, Vee.”

**_You do! You didn’t have one at the gym and I just spent 20 minutes glued to your armpits._ **

“Oh yeah? Just be glad I didn’t have my shoes stolen.”

**_That admittedly would have been much worse._ **

Eddie stuck out his tongue even though there was no one around to see him do it. Venom got the point though.

“Anyway, I thought you were tired?”

**_I am._ **

“Maybe it’s time for some quiet then.”

They acquiesced and Eddie propped his sneakers on the heater to help them dry out a bit. He didn’t like to think of Venom being his shoes though. Felt disrespectful to be treading on someone like that. But he didn’t have time to linger on that thought as just as he was about to enter the bathroom, Venom offered one more remark.

 **_Hey, hey, Eddie. Just be glad you didn’t have your pants stolen. Could you imagine me pretending to be_ ** **them** ** _?_** They smirked.

But Eddie could imagine. And though he desperately wanted to, he couldn’t quite ignore the excited little flip his stomach did at the idea. 

Oh boy. He was in trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos is great, but comments keep me motivated to continue. :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yeah. This chapter sort of snowballed a bit. Rather a lot, actually. Enjoy nearly 9k's worth of Venom and Eddie touching!

Eddie’s back was on fire. Not literally - though the scorch marks on his clothes suggest it might have been a little bit earlier in the night. No, this was the kind of fire where all your muscles seize up and you can’t even stand straight. Which is exactly what Eddie found he couldn’t do a moment ago when he got up from the sofa for another beer.

He let out a strained high whimper, breathing heavily and rapidly through his nose. His shoulders were hunched forward, his spine curved at an odd angle, thighs frozen halfway to a squat. Standing was agony, but his body was too overwhelmed to even move. He’d felt perfectly fine for the last hour he’d been sitting there, decompressing from the night’s events. But he could only figure that that was what had caused the problem. It was the same as when he didn’t do a proper cool down after a workout, but much much worse. Though it's also probably what should be expected when a roof collapses on top of you.

“Vee….. help,” he panted. 

They appeared at his side, languidly separating from his body in a liquidly abstract shape of half a person. They looked him up and down with slightly narrowed eyes.

**“What would you like me to do?”** They asked, as though completely oblivious to Eddie’s distress.

Eddie’s brow furrowed upwards, his eyes darting about. He knew that Venom was well aware of what was wrong. “I… can’t… move,” he huffed out through gritted teeth, his fists clenched by his sides.

**“Hmm,”** they murmured, swirling about and appraising Eddie’s current posture. He followed them with his eyes as twisting his neck was quite impossible. **“No broken bones, no problems with your spine. Seems like a muscle issue.”**

“I know that!” he barked, his irritation quickly taking over. “Can’t you fix it?”

**“Of course,”** they smiled, the corners of their mouth reaching just a little higher than usual. Eddie knew that normally spelled trouble. **“I will give you a massage.”**

And quite suddenly Eddie’s irritation was washed clean away. It was replaced by something a little akin to dread. “A what?”

**“Massage. Quickest way to ease sore muscles.”** They swirled around him some more, making him almost dizzy as he tried to follow their movements. But he was still too overwhelmed to grab them and make them stop, so he just closed his eyes instead.

“That can’t be right,” Eddie said, trying to keep his tone even. He knew it couldn’t be right. Venom had never massaged him before, never even mentioned the idea. Eddie wasn’t even sure that Venom knew what a massage was. Why was it suddenly an option? It couldn’t be allowed to happen. “Can’t you just... turn off the pain, or some _thing_?” 

He hissed in a breath as his attempt to gesticulate his point set his shoulders on fire, meaning it wasn’t just his back that needed healing.

Venom shrugged and nonchalantly folded their arms, no doubt imitating something they had seen on TV. Damn Kardashians. **“I could, but that wouldn’t fix the problem. It would only end up making it worse. You’d simply damage yourself further.”**

They must have been teasing, or whatever passed as teasing for Venom. They were far too amused by the situation for this to be the only solution. Eddie just needed them to do whatever it was they normally did when he was hurt. This had already gone on for too long and his irritation was coming back. 

“Why can’t you just fix me like you always do?”

**“Because,”** they loomed in close to his face. **“This is not a matter of broken cells, only overworked fibres. And they require much more** **_finesse_ ** **to set right again. There is nothing technically damaged for me to heal.”** They were smiling a little too wide again with a glint of something in their eye.

Eddie had had enough and would have punched them if he was able. Instead he muttered, “Yeah, and whose fault is that?” 

Venom’s smile dropped a little and they recoiled slightly from his words, a sting like a needle pricked his skin. Eddie immediately regretted saying anything. They couldn’t help their weakness and fear of fire. And if there hadn’t been as much of it then they wouldn’t have had to hide inside Eddie for the duration of the fight. As a team they had won in the end, but only barely, and Eddie wasn’t entirely sure that causing a building to fall down while you’re still in it really counted as winning. It was no wonder that his body had decided it had done too much unprepared activity for the day and completely frozen up as he sat there. And it definitely wasn’t fair to blame Venom for it.

Eddie took a deep breath through his nose. “You know what? I’m fine. Totally fine. Just going to go to bed and sleep it off. Be right as rain in the morning. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do.”

He had barely begun to move when fresh pain bloomed across his back. He let out another whimper, but powered through and took a step. Oh god it was awful. It wasn’t even a proper step, it was some sort of half shuffle where he couldn’t lift his leg very high or shift his weight around. He realised that his thighs hadn’t been spared from damage either, and the strange angle he was holding himself at probably wasn’t helping.

He tried taking another step, which was also accompanied by a pained groan as yet more heat exploded around his spine, shoulders and neck.

**“Eddie,”** Venom chided.

_“No, no…. I’m fine... I can do... this,”_ he strained out, his fists clenched tight with each forward movement, nails digging into his palms. Tears were starting to accumulate in his eyes. It wasn’t that far. He could make it to the bed.

**“Eddie,”** Venom said again, much softer this time. They were still floating to one side, but now their arms were out as if to brace in case Eddie fell over. **“Let me help.”**

“No... I can… do it.” He tried going a little faster, just dragging his feet along the floor. He was actually making progress, even if every movement was soundtracked by grunts, groans and lots of heavy breathing. He was incredibly thankful he was already in his socks.

Venom gave an irritated sigh and folded their stringy arms again as they watched Eddie shuffle across the room. Frankly he looked rather hilarious doing a penguin wobble with his ass stuck out and shoulders hunched like an old man in need of a walking stick. But his stubbornness was very annoying.

_“Nearly… there.”_

Finally his shins touched the edge of the bed frame. He had done it! He was panting and sweating and almost crying by the time he did, but he had done it. Though he had no idea how he was actually going to get into bed.

**“Ok. Now what?”** Venom punctuated the point with their question.

“Um… I’m… I’m going to... get ready!” Eddie declared, still trying to breathe through the pain. But he didn’t move, and ended up just standing there bent in an awkward position.

**“By all means, take your time.”**

“Yeah, just… preparing myself.”

Eddie was fairly certain Venom sighed and rolled their eyes, but they were just out of his line of sight so he couldn’t be sure. 

“Okay, okay… you can do this,” he told himself under his breath. Step 1- take off your jeans. 

Doing his best with his very restricted mobility, Eddie slowly reached to unbuckle his pants. He tried to do it quickly, his biceps clearly unhappy with his hands doing anything at all. He gave a massive sigh of relief once they were open, but the way he was standing meant he couldn’t pull them down.

His hands were back at his sides, trying vainly to grab onto the material and tug them over his hips, all the time muttering hurried nonsense words under his breath.

**“Eddie, you are being ridiculous.”**

“No I’m not, no I’m not!” he quickly assured. “Almost got them.” He strained as much as he could, and _finally_ they gave way. But only as far as his knees. “See? See? All good, all good. Just need some sleep. Be fine tomorrow.”

Venom loomed in again, coming close to the side of his face. **“Is that so?”**

“Ye-s,” but the break in his voice said otherwise.

**“Then I would** **_love_ ** **to see you get into bed.”**

Eddie breathed in out rapidly a few times. “Sure. No problem.”

He could do this. All he needed to do was sit down. Sit down and roll to the side. No need for a massage, no need for Venom to roam all over his body with theirs. No need to think about the things his body did when that image crossed his mind. Easy. 

Except his legs were locked in place and wouldn’t move. None of him would move. Oh god, he knew what he had to do. It was the only option left.

Taking a very deep breath, he closed his eyes and braced as well as he could. Then he gave a tiny jump and allowed himself to fall forward, face planting right into the duvet.

The impact raced around his body like a lightning bolt, setting everything on fire again, the bounce even more so. The yell of pain was knocked from him, coming out as only as a long, partially muffled, high pitched whine. He turned his head to get some air, despite his neck protesting. His shins were hanging off the edge of the mattress, jeans still clinging to them, and Venom was hovering over him disapprovingly.

**“Well, that went well.”**

“‘S fine. Totally fine,” he said, sounding rather dazed. “I just live here now.” He stared blankly ahead at his pillows that felt very far away.

**“Well** **_I_ ** **don’t want to live in just your bed.”**

“Be fine by the morning, Vee.”

**“And what if you’re not? What will I do then?”**

“I dunno.” He tried to shrug, but that ended badly.

**“Why won’t you let me help?”**

“Because...uh...” 

He didn’t have a good reason, he knew he didn’t. Even if his brain wasn’t addled by the pain still buzzing around his body, he wouldn’t have been able to come up with a good excuse. 

He wouldn’t let Venom help because he wasn’t prepared for what feelings that might generate. The easiest way to not give into temptation is to stay away from it in the first place. Even if that meant being in the predicament he was now. 

But then Venom grunted and said the thing, maybe the only thing, that could ever change his mind.

**“Your discomfort is my discomfort too, you know.”**

And he did know. Eddie could be as selfish as he liked all day long, but if in the end his suffering made someone else _unnecessarily_ suffer, then he was going to do everything in his power to rectify the situation. 

So far, Venom had been pretty good at shielding Eddie from everything except their hunger - which might well be intentional, but it seemed as though they partook far more in his feelings than him theirs. So his joy was their joy, his anger became their anger. But so his pain was also keenly felt on their end, and it wasn’t fair to make Venom suffer just because the thought of a massage made his lower half feel funny. 

And it probably wasn’t going to be like a normal massage anyway. Why would it be? For all he knew, Venom’s version of a massage could be something entirely other. They might not even touch him, not with everything else they were able to do. He was just making a big fuss and should get over himself. All of this misery was of his own making.

“Ok,” he eventually said, rather quietly.

**“Pardon?”**

“Ok,” he said louder. “You can fix me.”

Venom leaned back, grinning. **“About time.”**

A little thrill of what Eddie would later deny as excitement, darted through him. Venom was so unpredictable, and while it made him very nervous, it also meant that his life was definitely never boring. 

Case in point was when a peculiar sensation began pulling at him. From the corner of his eye he could see that Venom was shifting and changing. They were getting thicker, more substantial. No longer were they a sinuous collection of strands, now they were a solid shape. They had proper arms and a torso - and were those legs descending off the bed!? Eddie had never seen them take a complete form from the outside before, and while they were nowhere near as large as they would normally be, he couldn’t help but wonder if they were emptying almost their entire self from his body to do it. There surely couldn’t be much of them left. Where were they even connected right now?

What he could see clearly was how two very long arms were reaching towards him. No wait, _under_ him!

“Whu- wha--!?”

Eddie was cut off as suddenly his entire body went completely rigid. Venom had frozen him, locked him in his current position, mouth and eyes and all. He was totally at their mercy as those clawed fingers edged under his chest and naked thighs (he tried _very_ hard to not think about the nakedness of his thighs at the current moment but it was a futile task. They had always been a weak spot for him). Then the fingers stopped edging and just slithered the rest of the way, completely liquid till they reached the other side and became hands again, gently closing around him. The impossibly long liquid arms solidified beneath him, and he was being lifted from the bed like a plank of wood. It was utterly bizarre to find himself unbending against gravity, but he had complete faith in those strong arms. If only they would hold him a little tighter. 

He wasn't lifted very far in the end, maybe only a foot or two in the air, but he was swiftly turned 90 degrees so he was facing the head of the bed. His vision was fixed to what was only directly below him, and a tentacle from somewhere emerged to push the duvet back towards the wall. Another seemed to be rearranging the pillows.

However the next thing to catch his attention was the feeling of his jeans slowly being pulled down his legs. His eyes would have gone wide if they were able, but instead all he could do was breathe very rapidly through his nose. Thankfully Venom mistook this for panic instead of whatever else it was Eddie wouldn’t acknowledge he was feeling. Well, there was a little panic in there.

**“Nearly done.”**

He was being lowered now, and the tentacle with the pillow carefully arranged it so that his shoulders landed on it, and his chin just hung over the top edge. Then Venom’s arms were gone and he was free to move again, but all he did was take in a very large gulp of air.

**“Hmm,”** Venom mused. **“This will have to go.”**

Four very dexterous tentacles slid under the bottom hem of his t-shirt, right against the small of his back, and Eddie squeaked out a surprise. The tentacles froze.

“Whu- what are you doing with my t-shit?” His voice wobbled in a way he really wished it wouldn’t.

**“Removing it will make the process go quicker.”**

Quicker was good. He was good with quicker. “Oh, okay. D- don’t you dare rip it though,” Eddie warned, wanting to sound stern, but coming out rather weak. The tentacles lightly stroked against his hot skin, and suddenly Venom’s voice was right against his ear.

**“Wouldn’t dream of it.”**

Eddie refused to shudder. He wasn’t going to do it. He wasn’t going to react to that. But he did jump when two more tentacles unexpectedly wrapped themselves around his wrists. He hissed at the sudden jangle to his sore muscles, but Venom made no apology. 

After a few deep breaths when he was settled again, the tentacles began slowly guiding his arms to move from the sides of his body upwards, twisting them delicately till his hands could rest comfortably next to his head. The ones on his back never moved, just simply waited patiently till he was in the correct position. Then they began sliding up his back, hooking the material and pushing it up past his shoulders. The tentacles on his wrists let go to take his shirt the rest of the way. It landed somewhere on the floor.

There was a long moment of silence when all Eddie could hear was his thumping heart. He couldn’t feel Venom anywhere on him now. What were they doing back there?

**“Such pretty pictures,”** Venom finally said, more to themselves than Eddie. 

He was a little baffled at first. They had been together for 4 months now, surely they had seen his tattoos before? But then he remembered the bathroom rule and realised that he tried his best to not be naked these days, even just topless. So yes, it was probably the first time that Venom had gotten a really good look at his back. 

He felt a little ashamed about that. It was so silly to be that way. Even total strangers had seen his body art, be that at the gym or the beach. Why had he been so coy about the being that literally lived inside his body seeing them? 

Because Venom looking that closely at him made him feel exposed, that’s why. It made him feel like they might finally see something that they can’t stand about him, like so many of his exes had, and they might leave. Venom had a whole world of people to choose from, they could easily exchange him for someone else. What if they rejected him? How would he cope? He shut his eyes and tried to focus more on the moment, rubbing his thumbs on the bed sheet to ground him somewhat.

“Uh, th- thanks,” he eventually replied rather lamely, and pushed his mouth into the pillow. His neck flared up a little at the stretch, and he screwed up his eyes against it, but it seemed to knock Venom from their staring. 

**“I shall begin,”** they said with a strange air of authority, and two slightly larger than normal hands were placed onto the small of his back, either side of his spine.

And oh, it felt _wonderful_.

It had been too long since he was intentionally touched like this, so long since someone just laid their hands on him and left them there. This wasn’t some random stranger bumping into him in the street, who jostled him as they passed. This wasn’t some awkward friendly hug from a co-worker, or a possibly suggestive graze upon his arm while sitting at some dingy bar. This was deliberate and with purpose, and my god, it almost felt human. Not in texture of course, but the shape of it - the _shape_ of it sent some unfathomable sensation curling through his guts and shivering over his skin. It was addictive, whatever that feeling was. It almost made his head feel fuzzy. But his shiver did not go unnoticed by Venom.

A question mark was thrown his way, which was such a strange thing to be able to understand. He couldn’t see their face, and they hadn’t said a word, but he _felt_ a question mark in his mind, popping up like a notification on his phone. Which now meant that he had to come up with an answer.

“C- cold hands.”

They both knew it was a lie. Well, not entirely.

Venom’s hands were slightly cooler against Eddie’s skin, but not as cold as they could sometimes be. However, their temperature did make him all the more aware of them. He was aware of every point of contact, of every minor movement. They were so real and yet not real. The pressure was light, with a tiny bit of weight behind it, but the more he focused on it, the more he felt the tiny fluctuations in it because Venom was technically still a liquid. They might look and feel solid, but they were always moving, always rearranging themselves. He hadn’t noticed before with the gloves or the hoodie, but he guessed that’s because they had him as a structure to work around. But now they were entirely making themself into the shape of a hand with no internal support. 

But for some reason it was only then that Eddie’s brain clicked what was going on. Were they actually going to massage him like a human would!?

“Wait-!” he started, not sure where the sentence was going. “Aren’t you….?”

**“Aren’t I what?”**

“Aren’t you gonna... you know…” He swallowed, trying to find the right words. He was starting to feel embarrassed about it. “Aren’t you going to… do it from… inside?”

**“And why would I do that?”**

He so desperately wanted to turn his head and look at them. Just hearing a disembodied voice coming from behind him was so unnerving and somehow killed his confidence. “Isn’t that how you’ve always, um, done it?”

**“It would not be as effective.”**

Eddie couldn’t quite understand the logic behind that. They never had trouble passing through his clothes before, they did it all the time. Why would now be any different? 

Venom seemed to sense his hesitation. **“Please, Eddie, I know what I’m doing. Just stay still.”**

Their tone was so dismissive that it left little room for argument. He just had to steel himself and get through this. But his heart was racing. He was practically naked with his symbiote looming over him. So much exposed skin, so much potential for contact. But he couldn’t focus on that. All could be lost if he did. He was dancing along such a fine line right now that could easily be tipped either way. Keep a cool head and this would soon be over. Simple. 

But Venom still had a surprise in store. 

It took Eddie a minute to figure out what exactly was happening. He knew their hands were changing, but without being able to see them his brain couldn’t quite picture it. Were they getting flatter? No, they were getting heavier. But there wasn’t any more weight to them, so maybe just thicker? No, wait, they were getting rounder - or at least their palms were. They were getting rounder, and now they were sinking into him, sinking into his skin.

You would think that Eddie would be used to that by now; Venom was always popping in and out of his body. But normally he never felt it. Venom was either there or they weren’t, and the in between part just sort of seemed to happen. But he so felt it now, he was sure Venom meant him to. It was like a dome under his skin pressing right into the muscles creating an odd, but not unpleasant sensation of pressure. It took the phrase ‘deep tissue’ to a whole new level. And that’s when the vibration started.

It was a low rumble at first, very reminiscent of the idling engine of his bike, and it instantly reminded him of that rain soaked night. He would be lying if he said he hadn’t wanted to feel that warmth again. Being inside Venom like that had been so perfectly cosy. He knew that if Venom ever offered to be his blanket he would have a very hard time saying no. It would have to be Venom who offered though, he could never ask for it. He rarely asked Venom for anything, except to maybe stop whatever they were doing if it was embarrassing or dangerous. 

Did he have the courage to ask for something now? While the vibration was perfectly nice, it was too low to be having any real effect. But what if that was what they were going for? What if this was all they could do? Would it be rude to ask them to go faster?

**“Question, Eddie?”**

“W- what?”

**“I can feel you want to ask something.”**

“N-no. I’m fine.”

**“** **_Eddie_ ** **. Ask.”**

“Uh, could- um.” He cleared his throat. “Could, er, could you go… faster?”

**“I’m fixing you as fast as I can.”**

“No, no. I mean, uh.” He cleared his throat again. “I mean, the, er… the vibration. C-could it be… faster?”

**“Oh!”** they replied brightly. **“Of course.”**

And the speed did increase a little, maybe up to the point of doing 20mph on the bike. Decent, but it still left him wanting.

**“Is this good?”**

“Uh, maybe a little... more?” he requested, hesitantly. 

It went up another notch, and he could feel the tension in his muscles start to respond, but it still wasn’t enough.

“More?” he asked. And then it started getting good. 

It had reached the point where most personal massagers began. It was definitely no longer a rumble - this was a hum. It was spreading through him so wonderfully that, yes, he agreed this _was_ a better way of healing him. He shouldn’t have hesitated so much before. Venom was being honest, but they were also listening to what he wanted for a change. And if Venom was indulging him this much, he was going to be greedy.

“More,” he said, no longer a question, but still with a tone of uncertainty.

It was feeling warm now where they touched him, warmer than his skin. Was it a side effect of what they were doing? On the one hand Eddie hoped it wasn’t hurting them or putting them under too much strain, but on the other, it was hard to care. All that heat was soaking into him, right into the deep fibres making all that ache fade away. It seemed to radiate through him, reaching much further than where Venom was working. It almost felt like it was at the tips of his toes.

But now he needed to see how far this could go, how far Venom would obey him. “More,” he demanded, the heat making him pant a little. He licked his lips to replace the moisture, a light sheen of sweat breaking out on his forehead. The vibration had reached a perfect point, he was turning to butter, but Eddie couldn’t help himself.

“ _More_ ,” he moaned, a note of desire slipping into his voice, his eyes closing. 

He grunted as the buzz from Venom hands began to skirt along the edge between pleasure and pain. It was intense and almost sharp, but still working magic on his back. His nails were starting to claw at the fitted sheet, sweat running down his temples. He was squirming under their unmoving hands. This was getting too much now. It was quickly tipping over that pleasure/pain edge firmly into the negative.

He drew in a breath ready to ask them to slow down, but Venom must’ve misread his action. The intensity shot up making Eddie’s body tense horribly, filling it with pain again. His face contorted into a silent scream, his shoulders hunched up, fingers trying to rip at the mattress, heels kicked into the air. He needed them to stop!

Instantly Venom’s hands were gone from his back, taking their massage with them. Eddie flopped against the bed, really panting now, and taking in deep gulps of air.

**“Too much?”**

“Just... a little,” Eddie replied through long breaths. He was trying to not be discouraging. It was his fault he kept asking for more. Venom was only following his instructions. “Maybe, uh…” he shifted on the bed trying to get back into position without hurting more. “Maybe try again… but not as... intense.”

Eddie let out a long breath and the hands returned, but a little higher up than before. They sank back under his skin and began rumbling, gently increasing the frequency till they reached the butter melting stage once more.

**“How about this?”**

“Yeah, Vee. That’s peeerrrfect.” He didn’t mean to elongate the word, but it really did feel so damn good. He had accepted that this was happening now, and honestly it wasn’t bad. That last little shock to his system had cooled his head somewhat so now he could just focus on feeling better. Venom seemed to have got the hang of what they were doing too, working methodically up his back and making sure each muscle got treated.

However, the heat from their ministrations was still pouring into him. Perspiration beaded on his temples and began to very slowly trickle down his face. It was annoying, but he couldn’t raise his hand high enough to wipe it away, or turn his head to use the pillow as a towel. He would just have to endure it for a while.

**“Let me,”** Venom offered, and before he could respond, several tendrils came into view. They all dove at his face, and Eddie tried his best not to flinch, screwing his eyes up instead. But then the touch was so delicate that it made his breath hitch. 

They worked in pairs, softly wiping over his skin removing any moisture. They clung to the contours of his face, so silky smooth against his skin, slowly sweeping over his forehead and down his temples. Then they would curl gently around his cheekbones and dispel any accumulated wetness with a deft flick. Others took a different path, working down each side of his nose, making sure to capture any sweat on his upper lip. Some even went over his eyelids, tracing the arch of his eyebrows at the same time, and ending their journey near to his ear. 

They did this over and over again, getting rid of any new moisture that sprang up. And as Venom hadn’t stopped their massage, it kept on coming. But Eddie was already lost in the sensations. He clenched his jaw trying to not show just how much it was affecting him, but it was heavenly. 

That unfathomable sensation from earlier twisted in his guts again, except now he understood what it was. It was need. The simple human need to be touched. And who cared that it was Venom doing the touching? They were doing it so well, so beautifully that there really wasn’t a reason to protest. He had never known them to be this gentle, he wasn’t even sure if they could be. Everything else about them was so rough and vigorous, but this was so soft, so unhurried that he felt a little bad for underestimating them. 

But why did Venom still have fingers?

Their palms were doing all the work, but still he felt their fingers on his back. They fluttered and stroked over his skin, ghosting little circles, or very lightly kneading the pads in. As Venom slowly worked their way up his spine, so their fingers danced along with them, and Eddie wasn’t objecting. Especially once they reached the base of his neck.

The vibration alone was enough to make him groan. He had been holding so much tension there that was now just flowing away. But most deliciously, those pointed little fingertips had begun brushing up through the short hair of his nape, and grazing over the skin behind his ear, causing all manner of goosebumps to break out. Venom’s palms moved higher to the top of his shoulders and the fingertips ran over his jaw, skimming down the front of his throat, while the thumbs pressed into the base of his skull. His nails dug into the mattress again, but this time pain had nothing to do with it. The thumbs worked circles into the long tendons of his neck, while the claws pushed ever so lightly into the space below his Adam's apple, and all the while the vibration and heat continued. Combined with the attention that his face was still receiving, it was no wonder that he began to whimper. 

But just before it got too much, before he got too overwhelmed, Venom moved away. Their hands separated, starting to work outwards towards his arms. Eddie tried to steady his breathing and gulped in some more air. They still had plenty to go and it wouldn’t do anyone any good if they had to stop now. He actually pretty desperately didn’t _want_ it to stop. The wrong move now could scare Venom off, or give them the wrong idea. He had to play it cool.

In the end, Venom spent a good amount of time working on his shoulders. They lavished all sorts of attention on his trapezii, going over and under his shoulder blades seemingly multiple times. In fact, there were so many symmetrical repetitive motions going on that Eddie felt himself slipping into some sort of trance. It was only when he felt Venom’s clawed fingers easing themselves under his left elbow that he became alert again. There was also movement under his forearm as, what he immediately knew to be a tentacle, snaked it’s way down and tucked itself under his bracelets, ending in his palm. Together, his arm was supported and gently lifted off the bed about a few inches.

Now able to move his neck, he twisted his head a little to see what they were up to. But Venom was having none of that.

**“Eyes front, Eddie,”** they softly chided, and the tendrils on his face moved his head back to where it was. **“Keep them closed too,”** they added as two of the tendrils gently pushed his eyelids down. 

“But why?” he asked, complying with their instructions anyway.

**“Because it is more fun that way.”**

He gave a little baffled smile, but didn’t argue. They did tend to find amusement in the oddest places. But the actually odd thing was that he could still hear their voice with his ears, not in his head. Did that mean that they still had a body back there, and weren’t just a floating head with a pair of hands? And if not, why not?

He would admit that they _had_ been more physically present recently. Normally they didn’t make much of an appearance outside of his body. They told him that it used a lot of energy, and made them far less hungry to just stay inside. But since the night of the hoodie, they had been coming out much more. Eddie didn’t really mind. It made him feel a lot less alone in the apartment and like he was no longer just talking to himself. It had very much become a comforting presence. He couldn’t say he’d noticed any uptick in their appetite though. 

Venom’s right hand was moving now. The vibration completely stopped as they lifted it from his skin, but then, skimming their long fingers along his back, it settled on his left shoulder and sank deeply into his deltoid. The vibration resumed and he realised that the elevation of his arm was to allow access to his bicep.

In steady, sustained movements, they passed over and under his upper arm, going right down to his elbow and back again. When they moved onto his forearm, the other hand took a delicate hold of his wrist and turned it slightly upwards. The tentacle seemed to retreat a little leaving space in his palm. Then, what felt like the backs of Venom’s fingertips began trailing up the inside of his hand.

For some reason, out of everything, this felt like the most intimate touch of the evening. His hands were actually one of the few places that didn’t hurt at all and didn’t require their help. But still the fingers drifted over his own making him twitch a little with how slight the contact was. Perhaps they were just bored and keeping themselves entertained? Or maybe somehow the sensations in the nerve endings helped them find the affected muscles in his arm? There was an anatomical connection there, right?

In any case, he wanted to open his eyes and look, to see what the rest of them might be doing, but at the same time didn’t want to stop whatever this was. Eventually, he had to ask though.

“Hey, uh, Vee? You know my hands are ok, right? They weren’t hurt.”

**“Yes, I know,”** they rumbled back, fairly quietly. 

“Oh. So why…?” He trailed off, hoping Venom would get the jist of what he was asking.

**“Because it feels nice.”**

And, well, it did. And seeing as how Venom seemed to share in his pain, why wouldn’t they also feel this? They’d never really gotten into the details about how sharing a body worked, at least not when it came to senses. He knew that Venom could see and hear, and sadly smell, better than he could, but they hadn’t discussed touch. Were they saying it felt nice because of what they could feel, or what he could? Or were they only feeling what he could feel, which was them touching him? 

Before an answer could come, his arm was being put down again. The tentacle reappeared under his right forearm and the hands followed swiftly after, repeating all the same motions. So when it seemed like they had finished with his bicep, he found himself holding his breath to see if they were going to do the same trailing of fingers over his right palm. He was probably a little too delighted when they did, and gave a happy hum of a sigh.

A warm, low rumble of a chuckle came from Venom, but he didn’t really care. He was feeling so much better now. Lying there, nothing felt like it was hurting. He could probably just roll onto his side and fall asleep right now. But apparently Venom was not done.

As their hands left his right arm, a thank you was on the very tip of Eddie’s tongue. But that turned into a surprised closed mouth squeak as the hands appeared on his back, just under his shoulders. And for some reason, the fingers were pointing downwards.

**“I’m not done yet, Eddie.”**

“O-h?” His voice caught in his throat.

**“No, no. Still plenty more to do.”** The hands slid further apart, settling over his ribs. **“Need to make sure everything is fixed.”**

They sank in once more, the vibration and heat now a familiar feeling, but Venom seemed to be moving much quicker than before. They weren’t spending as much time on each part. Maybe those muscles weren’t as damaged? Or maybe they were hurrying to get it finished? It didn’t really matter the reason because all Eddie could focus on were those fingers. They were stirring up feelings he wanted to keep buried, feelings that made his heart thump and his stomach curl. 

It was the angle of them you see. If they were pointing upwards it would still be a normal massage and everything would be above board. But pointing downwards, it was dangerous. It was all too close to the way a partner's hands would travel down his sides when they were standing close together, probably already kissing and grinding, with one thing on their minds. They’d probably already be almost naked, like he was now, and their hands would be going further and further South, seeking their way into his underwear-

“ _Nngh_!” was the very undignified sound that came out of Eddie as Venom’s fingers slipped under the waistband of his black boxers. They immediately froze. “Just- ah, h-how much lower you plannin’ on going there, bud?”

**“I must heal your entire lumbar region, Eddie. The base of your back was the area most affected.”** Their voice sounded different, like they were facing away from him, which would explain the change in direction.

“Oh, okay,” he gulped. He knew that it was the moment he’d stood up, but it felt like very dangerous territory. “Just, er…” How on earth could he ask Venom to stay away from his ass? “... be careful?”

**“Eddie, I am always careful.”**

“No you’re not.” 

Eddie sensed a strange sort of movement behind him. He couldn’t actually feel anything change, but when Venom spoke again, it was right next to his ear.

**“I am careful with you.”** Their voice was a low rumble that skittered down his spine. He let out a long, slow breath. **“No need to be nervous,”** and the slightest shift in the air told him they were gone again.

But my god was he nervous. Nervous, and excited. The hands hadn’t moved. Their fingertips were still just edging under the top of his boxers - which really was quite illogical. They seeped through his clothing all the time like nothing was there. Why was this suddenly a barrier they had to remove? Was Venom teasing him? Or were they trying to make him feel things on purpose? No, that wasn’t right. They were probably just trying to imitate what normal hands did, that’s all.

In any case, they didn’t wait for his permission to continue. The hands slid lower, the palms resting right on the top of his pelvis sending out all their vibrations and still feeling ever so good. But it meant that their long clawed fingers were quite firmly curved around his buttocks. They didn’t flutter about like before, in fact they barely moved, but there was most definitely a gentle squeeze going on. Perhaps even those clawed tips were pressed ever so slightly in.

The palms slid closer together, really getting deep into his thoracolumbar fascia, and it felt divine. But what really sent his pulse racing was how Venom’s thumbs seemed to ever so innocently fall right into the cleft of his ass, like it was nothing at all. Eddie pushed his mouth into the pillow, realising that his own hands were now gripping that instead of the bed. A heat was beginning to build in his gut that he very furiously tried to ignore.

He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t get aroused just because of how Venom was touching him. It was so inappropriate, not to mention just plain embarrassing. _But it had been so long_. Though they had discussed early on the things that dicks tend to do, he hadn’t been bold enough to actually take himself in hand yet. It felt wrong to try and push a human’s sex drive onto an alien that had never mentioned even having one. He wasn’t about to make them into an unwilling audience to his own bodily desires, then or now. So he did what he had come accustomed to doing and tried to take his train of thought into an unsexy direction.

But it wasn’t working. Every thought somehow brought him back to Venom and how their fingers were almost tickling his ass. They were so close to his hole that it was feeling less and less like an accident. They must know what they’re doing, but the ramifications of that idea were simply impossible. Venom said their kind didn’t have sex, so there’s no way they would be trying to initiate it with him. The heat continued to build and Eddie knew if their hands stayed there any longer it really was about to get dangerous.

So, as if almost on cue, Venom’s hands moved away. They separated again settling on the much safer region of his hips. Eddie breathed out a sigh of relief, taking a moment to cool off. His head was going to places that could only exist in fantasy, and at a future date he would have to confront what that fantasy actually was, but if Venom called it quits now, he would be fine.

Venom didn’t call it quits though. They were sliding further down now, easing along his flanks and onto the backs of his thighs, their thumbs perfectly curving round the outline of his cheeks. Their fingers dipped into the gap between his legs, and Eddie knew he wasn’t sweating due to the heat from their hands. 

Which made him realise that the tendrils had stopped tending his face at some point. Instead he could now feel them coiling around his ankles, encouraging his feet to open just that little bit wider. He didn’t protest. He probably couldn’t if he wanted to (which he didn't). He couldn’t trust his voice to not come out as a moan. His cock was most definitely starting to thicken, and he prayed that Venom hadn’t noticed.

He furrowed his brow as arousal throbbed through his body, making his breath heavy. He muffled it as much as he could with the pillow, but his white knuckle grip was giving him away. He desperately commanded his hips not to move, to not seek out the friction of the mattress below him. He tried to keep his muscles relaxed and not let all of Venom’s hard work go to waste, but the tension was getting unbearable. It was freaking torturous to pretend like it wasn’t happening.

And yet Venom was still kneading into his thighs - almost relentlessly, seemingly oblivious to it all. Their motions remained unchanged, but they had gone back to being very thorough again, which possibly made it worse. Nearer to the knees and around the outside edge, this endless wonderful contact was easier to deal with. But when they got closer to the middle, when their fingers were grazing over the delicate skin of his inner thigh, and moving ever closer to his nearly hard cock, Eddie felt like he was about to explode. 

The vibrating palms really were on the insides of his thighs now. They were dragging them up slowly, their claws leaving little marks in their wake. Their thumbs were getting nearer and nearer, the vibration travelling up the meat of his thighs and ending in such a tantalising place. Dozens of increasingly salacious scenarios whipped through his mind, each heavily featuring Venom’s hands. Then their tentacles. Then their _tongue_. Oh the possibilities of that tongue! It was too much. It was going to happen. If they got any closer it was going to happen!

Then a fingertip brushed up against his balls and it was all over.

With a yell, Eddie jackknifed himself into a foetal position, fiercely hugging the pillow to his body and rolling onto his side. He buried his face in it, trying to hide his burning red cheeks and panting hard. He hadn’t actually come, but it had been an _extremely_ close thing. Too fucking close. His cock was still thrumming, squashed between his stomach and legs and feeling a little damp. But his arousal was beginning to wane. Being utterly mortified will do that.

Venom still hadn’t said anything. 

Eddie bravely opened an eye to see what they were doing, and how much damage he’d caused. They appeared to be hovering by his feet, hands in the air, almost frozen with shock. He had been right about them still having a body. It wasn’t as solid as when they had picked him up, but it was still definitely a torso shape. Had they been like that the entire time even though he couldn’t see them?

“V-Vee…” he swallowed, his voice sounding embarrassingly horse. “Vee I-...”

They slowly lowered their hands. **_No, Eddie. I get it,_ ** they said, sounding very disappointed. Their body began collapsing into itself and sinking back into his skin.

“No, Vee, wait…” But what was he going to say? How on earth could he explain himself? They were gone before he could think of an answer, their rejection sitting heavily in his gut.

He hated this. He had done it again. He had made them feel unwanted. But he wasn’t rejecting them! He was rejecting himself and his stupid body! He stupid betraying body!

He hugged the pillow trying to think of a way to apologise. If it was anyone else there would be gentle words and hugging and comforting touches, but that was what started the problem in the first place. Asking them to come back out was a bad idea, and they probably wouldn’t do it anyway. He wasn’t in the right state to try and be eloquent either, even though finding the right words was what he got paid for.

What he needed to do was make them _feel_ how sorry he was, but he didn’t know how to do that. Venom was an expert at sharing emotions, but Eddie was basically fumbling around in the dark. Maybe if he just thought about it furiously the message would somehow get across? He tried to focus on that, on how sorry he was, but it was a hard thing to pin down. Being sorry is mostly made from guilt, which is something that’s very hard to conjure without the accompanying context. And what if he sends the wrong message by mistake, somehow making Venom think they should be the guilty feeling one?

This was going nowhere and the silence stretching out between them was unbearable. His mind started lingering on the thought that Venom might leave him. This might have been the last straw, one rejection too many. There was a big wide world of possible hosts out there, and he was nothing special. He needed Venom to stay, he had to make them understand that they were wanted. So he started by making a list of everything he liked about them.

He liked their curiosity and how they always wanted to try something new. He liked their strange sense of humour that made him laugh at the oddest things. He liked how excited they got over human items like a mechanical ice cream scoop or an electric fan. He liked their enjoyment of bad action movies that could not be watched without popcorn. He liked how they didn’t hold any prejudices and were always willing to learn. He liked that they wanted to help even if their suggestions were bad. He liked that they stopped criminals from preying on innocent people or enabled him to bring about some justice. He liked how they saw the beauty in the mundane and every day, and made him appreciate it too. He liked that they were happy to just hang around the apartment with him, doing nothing all day, just eating and sleeping on the couch. He liked how they took care of him, fixed his injuries, kept him well and made him strong. 

He liked how they kept him company. 

He liked that they were never dull. 

He liked…… them.

**_Eddie? What’s wrong?_ ** Venom sounded concerned.

“Huh? What?”

**_You are crying._ **

“I am?” He touched his cheek and felt wetness there. “Oh, I guess I am,” he said, wiping the moisture away.

**_Are you upset?_ **

“No, no. I’m fine. Honestly.”

**_Humans only cry when they’re sad. Why are you sad? Did I make-?_ **

“No, Vee. Not at all,” Eddie reassured. “These are happy tears. Promise.”

**_Happy tears?_ **

“Yeah, you know. You’ve seen it on TV. Sometimes when people are really happy, they cry. It’s a good thing.”

Venom took a moment to digest this information. 

**_So why are_ ** **you** **_crying?_ **

It was time to be completely honest. They deserved it, and Eddie wanted to be. 

“Because I was thinking about you.”

**_...Me?_ **

“Yeah. I was just thinking about how happy I am to have you in my life, that’s all.” He took a deep breath, “I’m glad that you’re here.”

There was a long pause before a very quietly awed sounding **_Oh_ **slipped into Eddie’s mind. 

He smiled, hopeful that his message had gotten across. Venom had always said they couldn’t read his mind directly, but he sort of wished they could right at that moment. He really wanted them to know exactly what he was thinking and all the emotions that went along with it. And maybe they did a little. A soft sort of feeling began suffusing through his body, suddenly making him feel very sleepy. It was a cosy feeling, one wrapped in safety and security. Very much like a hug.

He shivered then, but that possibility had more to do with the sweat cooling on his skin rather than anything else. He groped around behind him for the duvet and found that it was put into his hand. The other pillow was placed under his head, and an unseen tentacle switched off the nearest lights. He quickly snuggled down and got comfortable, any and all traces of the aches and pains from the night completely gone. He had been fixed, maybe in more ways than one, and he was content with that.

But just as he was starting to drift off, a tiny voice whispered in his ear, and he knew that they were going to be ok.

**_Eddie?_ **

He hummed to show he was still listening. 

**_I’m happy that you’re in my life too... Even if you are a silly human._ **

Eddie couldn’t stop his grin. For Venom, that was positively sentimental.

“ _Your_ silly human, though,” he countered. 

**_Yes. Mine... Always._ **

And that was more than enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos is great, but comments make my day. :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally we get to the smut. I'm fairly rusty so apologies for that. Enjoy!

Venom had come to love evenings like this. The apartment was quiet and dark, filled only with the gentle hum of the fridge and the TV turned down low. The outside world was muffled by fog and drizzle, the neighbours settled into a rare stretch of serenity. Everything felt still. 

They sighed as they gazed at their human, the soft light of the television dancing over his sleeping face. They never used to sigh, they never used to gaze either, but Eddie had changed them so much without evening knowing it. They were mostly pooled on his stomach, enraptured with the gentle rise and fall of his chest and the way he lay on the sofa, so vulnerable and unbothered. His left hand was behind his head, elbow up in the air, while the other arm teetered precariously close to the edge of the seat. 

His resting heartbeat felt soothing to them, a constant reminder that they were not alone. They were not struggling for survival on an asteroid or trapped inside a plastic tube. They were comfortable, and secure and safe. They would keep him safe in return, especially on nights like this when everything felt so calm.

Eddie stirred in his sleep, his eyes catching their attention as they moved behind their lids. He was beginning to dream. 

Dreams had become fascinating things to Venom. They flitted about in Eddie's subconscious just beyond their reach, like music playing in the next room that you can’t quite recognise. Dreams stirred up muted emotions while he slept and caused odd little noises to escape his lovely mouth. But Venom could never know what he saw or experienced. They could only pick out the fragmented images from his memory the next morning. It did nothing to diminish their curiosity.

They watched now as his fingers sporadically twitched. Sometimes his brow would furrow or a leg muscle spasm. He moved without really moving, his body caught in a temporary paralysis. Perhaps he was having a fighting dream like the one he once mentioned having, his hands trying to curl into mighty fists. Venom hoped they were winning. 

A thud from upstairs made Eddie’s body jerk, and the arm perched so close to the edge finally fell off. A tentacle shot out and caught it by the wrist before his knuckles could touch the floor. They didn’t want him to wake up. Not now. Not when he was so delicious. He was so unguarded when he slept. He didn’t pull away from them or make up excuses for the way he acted. They were free to touch and roam without his pride or shame or embarrassment as a barrier. They treasured these times.

They waited to see if he would wake. After a long exhale, Eddie’s eyes began moving again and they relaxed knowing he was no nearer to consciousness. They seeped their tentacle through his multitude of bracelets so they could wrap more securely around him. Slowly they hoisted his arm back up, sliding themselves greedily over his pulse point. Goosebumps broke out on his forearm, and for a moment his breath hitched, but he was still deep in his dream.

Venom placed his arm back by his side, lingering with their hold. They took their time taking back their tentacle, sliding it the other way around his wrist, like a rope being reeled in. Eddie’s fingers twitched all the more, and then he sighed. 

A sigh that sounded a lot like  _ “Venom...” _

They froze, a part of themselves still wrapped around him. A curious change was coming over Eddie. It radiated down from his head, melting through his body, a myriad of hormones flowing through his blood. Venom was no stranger to the chemicals Eddie’s brain made, often finding much satisfaction in consuming their contents. But this one felt new, and if not actually new, just so much stronger than it had been before.

But then it was gone. It had been a single wave of something warm and intriguing. Had it been something they caused? They took the last bit of their tentacle back in, making sure to slather every millimetre they could across Eddie’s skin, and then there it was again! It was even briefer this time, more of a throb than a wave, but Venom felt it. And they wanted to feel it again.

Instead of one tentacle, this time they sent out many. Two sinuously snaked their way up his chest under his shirt, joyously curving around any contours they found. One came to rest on the left side of his collarbone, stroking over his shoulder, while the other snuggled in against his neck, fully aware of how Eddie’s pulse was beginning to quicken. He visibly swallowed as that hot feeling started to return. It seemed to be all over him now, a steady gentle rise in temperature.

Encouraged, Venom sent two more tentacles travelling south. They dipped into the V of his hips and wrapped themselves loosely around his already open legs inside of his sweatpants. Venom remembered how Eddie had reacted the last time they touched his thighs, so they ran the end of those tentacles tenderly up and down the innermost part. That all over feeling suddenly spiked, and even in his sleep Eddie squirmed. His mouth fell open huffing out little breaths as his fingers tried to grab onto something.

Venom backed off. It was too much too soon, and they didn’t want him awake. Not yet, at least. They waited until he calmed down again, but that feeling never went away. It stayed simmering just under the surface. Venom focused more on the tentacles on his chest and neck. They branched off new ones that trailed down his ribs and coiled down his arms, maintaining maximum contact at all times. They did it slowly. To rush would stop him dreaming, and going slow was far more fun. 

The end of the tentacle on Eddie’s neck moved to smooth along his stubbly jaw. It slipped over the edge of his chin and brushed ever so lightly across his lips. Eddie's mouth made little kissing motions as it passed, much to Venom’s delight. He quietly whimpered when it was gone, so Venom allowed it to linger, just barely touching his lips. They were so soft, the softest part of him, and so luscious and rich in colour. Totally perfect for giving out kisses.

Venom tried the tentacles on his thighs again. They started the tips near to his knees and moved them upwards at a glacial pace. Eddie was breathing deeply now. His face seemed almost pained with need. And a lot of blood was being redirected towards his cock.

Venom realised then that this warm, steamy feeling was arousal. Eddie was aroused, and it was exquisite. They had yet to witness the other function of Eddie’s genitals, and though it had been explained to them, he hadn’t wanted them to see. Their massage had made that more than clear. They felt almost giddy with excitement at having something new to explore, and renewed their ministrations with careful vigour.

Turning their head around, they dipped low and squirmed under the loose waistband of Eddie’s sweatpants. The first thing to hit them was the heat. It was rich and inviting, and they faced a very attractive, growing bulge. Venom lavished more attention on Eddie’s thighs, much nearer to his cock and they were rewarded with a powerful throb. His legs twitched too, so they quickly looped more tentacles around his knees to keep them open.

Venom took a tendril and ran it over the bulge, feeling it pulse beneath their touch. They considered how marvellous it was that Eddie had a small part of his anatomy that could change shape. True, it wasn’t much of a change, not like they could shift about, but it gladdened them to discover that not all of Eddie’s body was completely fixed in its appearance. In fact, it was still changing right now as they watched. They ran their tendril over it again, thrilling at how it plumped up further. And then Eddie moaned.

It wasn’t a loud one, and was mostly muffled by the fabric of his pants, but it was glorious to Venom’s ears. It was entirely honest and without restraint. It wasn’t hidden behind a wall of denied emotion. Venom had made Eddie feel good, and he was letting them know. 

They turned their attention back to his hard cock. It must be so uncomfortable to be so restrained. So their dexterous little tendril reached through the ever so handy gap in the front of Eddie’s boxers and gently withdrew his dick. It fell towards them, the weight of gravity pulling it down. It was so solid and meaty it made their mouth water, and they knew exactly what they had to do next.

They had seen in Eddie’s memories how he would pleasure himself with his hand, even though he didn’t want them to know. There was a sense of shame attached to the images, like it was something he shouldn’t really be doing. But Venom knew it must feel good else he wouldn’t do it, or do it so many times. They tried to replicate the feeling now by taking a tentacle the width of a finger and slowly winding it multiple times around the base of his cock. Then they languidly pulled themselves upwards, right to the tip, and back down again. 

The slide was smooth, but tight, and they felt every ridge and bump and vein along the way. Eddie’s hips jerked at the sensation, and his breathing momentarily sped up before evening out again. Venom repeated the motion, a little faster this time, and Eddie grunted. Another glorious sound. They were starting to wonder just how many sounds they could make him produce. Then they pumped once more, and suddenly noticed there was a bead of moisture right on the tip - which happened to be mere centimeters away from their face. 

A tiny tongue flicked out to taste it, and it made Venom shiver. This was definitely new. They had tried a bit from every part of Eddie, or so they had thought, but this quite possibly beat them all. It had proteins and enzymes in it without the tang or bitterness of other fluids. They clearly had made a mistake of ignoring Eddie’s squidgy bits for so long.

They stroked him again, hoping for more, and were happy to get it in a greater quantity. They licked longer this time, using the wide flat of their tongue to drag across the head of his cock. Another moan, a higher pitch than before, escaped from Eddie’s lips. Apparently he liked the licking, and for now, so did Venom. He was already producing more liquid before they could even move. Venom hungrily lapped it up, their long tongue taking over from the tentacle, corkscrewing around his dick and adding wetness to their glide. They were really quite lucky it was so roomy in the crotch of Eddie’s pants.

They tried other touches too - any kind of licking was agreeable, as were single and multiple tentacle strokes. They played around with the head, finding the extra sensitive spots and seeing how much give every part had. They ventured towards his balls too, discovering that they could also add to the fun. And all the while there was more to taste, more moisture to lubricate their movements, and more pleasure to be found. 

There was a pressure too. Venom could sense it building around Eddie’s gut. His body had gotten so warm, he was sweating all over. But it only spurred Venom on. They knew there was something at the end of all this, a reward they could never quite grasp from memory alone. They wanted to feel what it was like, to feast upon it if they could. They went back to the pumping motion, going faster than they probably should, but with all the slick it was hard to go slow.

There came another luscious sound. But that wasn’t some half-muffled sigh of a moan. That was an actual moan!

Venom froze, suddenly fully aware of how very much awake Eddie was. They slunk out backwards from his sweatpants, half submerged in his stomach, and anxiously turned around. 

They expected anger, or revolution, surely downright rejection. But what they found was Eddie looking up at them through half-lidded eyes, pupils blown wide in the dim light, or possibly with something else.

“Don’t stop,” he asked quietly.

Venom blinked.

**_But, but I thought you hated me touching you._ **

“No, it’s not- I don’t-...” 

He fumbled for words in his dozy, heated haze. They weren’t coming so he reached his left hand, which hadn’t moved from his head, across his neck to the tentacle that had retreated there. He gingerly took it and pulled it closer to his face. Then he closed his eyes and rubbed it across his lips, a rumble of pleasure echoing in his chest.

A quiver ran through Venom’s entire form. God, his lips were wonderful. And now he really was kissing them. He  _ wanted _ them to be there.

“I never hated it, Vee... I just didn’t think I was allowed to like it.”

Venom flowed further up his body, their small head still halfway inside. 

**_Why?_ **

Eddie took a moment to find the right words. He rubbed the tentacle over his lips thoughtfully, all smooth silk and as warm as blood. Venom trembled again.

“Because humans are supposed to only want to be touched by other humans.”

**_Says who?_ **

“Other humans.”

Venom rose up from his chest a little, an idea forming in their mind and filling them with confidence. 

**_But you’re not other humans, are you?_ **

Eddie smiled. “No. No I’m not.”

**_And we can do what we like. What other humans say doesn’t matter to us, does it?_ **

Venom grew taller, more substantial. Eddie followed them with his eyes.

“No, it doesn’t.”

**_And if you give your full consent…_ **

They gave his dick a stroke, their tentacles still firmly wrapped around every part of him. Eddie threw his head back, whimpering.

**_If you give your full consent , Eddie…_ ** Venom repeated, knowing he had lost his train of thought. He put his head forward, breathing heavily again, and looking up at them.

“You can do whatever you like to me.”

Venom moved in close, their faces practically touching.

**_And what would you like me to do to you?_ **

They stroked him again, all of their tentacles coming alive with movement. Eddie closed his eyes, already lost.

“K- keep touching me….  _ please.” _

Venom grinned, finally hearing the words they had so longed for.

**_With pleasure._ **

Eddie was assaulted with sensation. Half asleep it had all been about his cock, but Venom was  _ everywhere _ . They groped at his thighs, squeezed along his arms and ran large hands over his chest. Another set had their fingers under his shirt, and suddenly he wanted it off more than anything. The more of him there was exposed, the better. The hands pushed upwards, taking his t-shirt with them and gliding over his sweaty skin. Eddie eagerly helped them to take it the rest of the way. Venom was back on him in an instant, roaming all over him, and kneading into his flesh.

Eddie’s fingers longed to grab onto something - anything to keep him from floating away. His right hand held onto the edge of the sofa cushion for dear life, while the fingernails on his left scrabbled against the leather covered backrest, finding no purchase at all. Venom saw the opportunity to fill them with themself. 

A puddle of goo oozed from Eddie’s forearms and slid up into his palm, separating into tendrils that interlocked with his own fingers. They solidified enough for him to grab onto them tightly, as though they were holding hands. Automatically his arms ended up either side of his head, and Venom added a little pressure, just to make him feel like they were pinning them there. The heat rose in Eddie’s belly. 

They were also building a torso. It wove itself together from long strands, hovering over his lap, giving their head broad and muscular shoulders to sit on. It loomed over him, an arm outstretched towards his face. They cupped his cheek, their hand so big it covered the entire side of his head. Eddie pushed into it, no longer denying himself what he craved. This was everything he had wanted for such a long time, and Venom seemed to want it too. They were still so warm. Every part of them was. Every hand.

Only hands.

Only hands groped at his thighs and squeezed along his arms. Only hands ran over his chest and down his sides. Only a hand held his thick cock, not moving, but still slick with juices, keeping him at full attention. Eddie loved Venom’s hands with their strength and clawed fingers. But right now he didn’t want hands.

He covered the one on his face with his own, looking up at Venom’s humanoid form.

“Don’t- don’t want…” he panted, the silk of Venom’s surface sending his arousal sky high. “Want you… to be you.”

**_I am me,_ ** Venom crooned, a little confused.

Eddie shook his head as much as he was able. The hands hadn’t stopped moving, hadn’t stopped caressing and massaging, hadn’t stopped paying attention to all of his most erogenous parts. Except the one on his cock. The fingers were still, but the thumb was lazily rubbing circles around the crown. It made it very hard to concentrate. 

“No, no… real you. Want  _ the real _ you.”

A wave of joyous understanding washed over Venom. They melted before his eyes, each hand bursting into a cluster of tentacles. Eddie couldn’t stop moaning and groaning, panting between heavy breaths, drunk on heat and touch. They ran through his hair, and over his face. They squeezed his neck and pinched his nipples. They kneaded his abs and his thighs, and reached under to fondle the meat of his ass.

Eddie was squirming in every direction, but he didn’t want to get away. He didn’t want to stop for anything because he knew what he desperately wanted, what he was waiting for. He had been asleep before and missed most of it. Venom knew what he wanted too. A touch lightly trailed over his aching cock, and he nearly went insane.

“Please, please, Vee,” he begged.

**_Please, what?_ ** they asked, far too amused.

Eddie’s hips bucked, trying to find that friction, but he was denied.

“Please… please touch my dick. I- I  _ need _ … please!”

He threw his head to the right in frustration, exposing his neck. Venom couldn’t resist. They leaned in close and licked a long stripe up it, making Eddie vibrate with want under them.

**_All you had to do was ask…_ **

His dick was suddenly enveloped in a tight, wet, silken heat. He would have jackknifed off the sofa if Venom hadn’t been holding him down. As it was, his back arched obscenely, his hips pressed into the cushions. Oh god, it was glorious.

Venom barely waited for him to recover before they started pumping. Eddie began babbling incoherent words, thrashing about within the confines of Venom’s tentacles. It was better than anything he’d ever imagined it could be. It compared to no other sexual experience he’d ever had before, and it blew them all out of the water. He was ruined for the rest of time now, he knew it, but it was so incredibly hard to care.

Lust unlike he’d ever known had overtaken him. His body burned with arousal and need. Every touch was like fire and ice, burning and soothing at the same time. He felt feverish with anticipation. There were more tentacles now, no part of him was left unmolested, and he was insanely hungry for every moment of it.

Venom was beyond words. They had never thought it would go this far, or that it would feel  _ so damn good _ . Touching Eddie was always divine, but like this his body was a symphony of flavour and sensation. It was a taste they would never tire of. He wanted them like no other being ever had, wanted them in so many ways that went far beyond power and strength. He  _ desired _ them, craved everything they were willing to give him, and Venom wanted to give him all that they had. 

That feeling in Eddie’s gut was building again. It never really went away, but it was so much more intense than last time.

“Don’t-... don’t stop,” Eddie pleaded between pants, his face contorted in pleasure. Venom had no intention of doing so. They were just as eager to reach the finish line, their tentacles moving in sweet unison, driving Eddie wild.

“ _ Ngh, nggh _ !” he whined out from behind gritted teeth. His hands gripped onto Venom with crushing intensity, his toes curling into cramps.

“Vee! I’m gonna,  _ I’m gonna- _ ..!”

Eddie’s whole body tensed into an arc, his cock spurting out the most exquisite orgasm of his lifetime. He saw white, black and a whole rainbow of coloured stars as he rode out such a mindnumbling climax. It lasted longer than he could comprehend too, unnaturally long really, but eventually he flopped bonelessly back onto the sofa, gulping in air like he just nearly drowned. 

His eyes wouldn’t stay still, rolling around in his head, unable to focus on anything. Every part of him was buzzing, his brain floating away on an insane afterglow. He was in a complete daze. It had been so long since he’d gotten off, and now there was a new gold standard to live up to. A probably impossible standard, but with Venom, the impossible seemed reachable.

A sudden, prolonged shudder - one that he knew wasn’t his - rolled through him. It felt strangely like satisfaction, though he was oblivious to the cause. Venom’s tentacles were still all over him, their movements languid and loose. They were stroking small patches of skin where they lay, and he squeezed the ones between his fingers.

He adored the feeling of them there, locked together like lovers. Christ, were they lovers now? Was this a one-off, an expression of Venom’s simple curiosity? Or was it to be more, a repeated experience for the rest of their lives? He found he didn’t mind the second option so much, in fact it made him feel rather warm at the thought. But if it was the first option - he wasn’t sure he could live with that. Not now, not when he knew how amazing it could be.

He threw his arm over his face and let out a disheartening sigh, post-orgasmic haze completely gone. They were going to have to talk.

“Vee,” he ordered, no hint of a question. 

He lifted his arm enough to see a small head with two large opal eyes bob up from his stomach, rather like a crocodile in a swamp. 

**_Yes?_ **

Shit. How was he supposed to ask this? He covered his eyes again, thinking it would be easier if he didn’t have to look at them. In the end it was Venom who spoke first.

**_You have regrets._ **

“I have questions,” he began. “For starters, you’re supposed to ask for consent first. You know that.”

Venom rose higher with indignation, opting to speak with their mouth. They knew Eddie preferred to talk like that.  **“I did ask.”**

He dropped his arm and gave them an exasperated look. “ _ Before _ it gets that far.”

**“But I knew you wanted it.”**

“You couldn’t have known that.”

**“Eddie,”** they moved up to his sternum.  **“I live inside your head.”**

“I thought you couldn’t read my mind?”

**“I can’t, but when you broadcast your thoughts so loudly, they are hard to miss. Plus, your body was very receptive to my attention.”**

“Hey,” he jabbed a finger at them. “You cannot trust a man’s dick to make decisions. They usually have very shit ideas.”

Venom deflated a little. Perhaps they had been too bold. Their tentacles began to retract.  **“So you do have regrets.”**

“I-...” Eddie stopped himself. Did he have regrets? Was he making a fight out of nothing? Once he woke up he could have said no. He could have asked Venom to stop, and they would have. He didn’t doubt it. But there wasn’t a moment when he wanted them to stop. And there were many moments before when he wanted them to start. Did Venom know about those too?

He closed his eyes, furrowed his brow, and pinched the bridge of his nose. “When you say my thoughts were loud…”

**“You were practically shouting.”** They shrugged. **“Have been for weeks.”**

“So, during the massage, you…”

**“Yes, I knew everything. You were not hiding it at all well.”**

Eddie covered his face with his Venom-less hands and groaned into them, utterly mortified that he was being that obvious.  _ Of course _ they knew, they shared a body. It was ridiculous to ever think that he was getting away with it. 

**“But I’ve known how you felt for a long time... Which is why I arranged it to happen in the first place,”** they added, far too casually.

Eddie slowly lowered his hands, confusion all over his face. Venom shot back a mischievous smile.

**“Do you really think I would allow our body to get into such a state? That I would allow you to be in so much pain?”**

“Well, no...”

**“And do you think,”** they asked, sliding ever closer to his face, **“that I would allow you to forget the gloves on such an important mission?”**

“N-no, but…” The cogs in Eddie's brain began working, connecting all the little dots. He suddenly gave them a very stern look. “Vee. What did you do to my hoodie?”

**“...I ate it.”**

“Venom! I loved that hoodie!”

**“I know, and I loved it too, but when the opportunity presented itself, I had to take it.”**

“Opportunity?”

**“The weather. In what other situation would you ever have allowed me to cover you like that?”**

“Well, uh…”

**“How else could I get you to want to touch me? To let me touch you?”**

They looped some of their tentacles over his shoulders, weighing him down, coming so close with their face that Eddie could almost see his reflection in those big, beautiful eyes. There was hope in those eyes too, a plea to not be rejected. Eddie’s anger melted. As much as he hated being manipulated, Venom had a point. The end rarely justified the means, but perhaps this time he would allow it.

He sighed and cupped the back of their head, pushing it forward so their foreheads met. 

“You’re a fucker, you know that?” he said softly. 

Venom knew they had been forgiven, and gleefully sent tentacles cascading all over Eddie’s body. He hummed out a moan, happy to have that touch back. But he flinched when they wrapped around his flaccid cock.

“Hey, hey! Not there. Not yet.” The tentacle retreated, opting to curl over his hip instead. “Still recovering from the first round,“ he added with a smile, taking their head in both hands.

**“** **_First_ ** **round?”** Venom asked hopefully.

“Well, yeah,” he shrugged, looking away and trying to seem nonchalant. “I mean, that is if… if you want to... you know? Again?” His eyes darted back, hesitant about how Venom would react.

**“Yes Eddie,”** they grinned.  **“I would** **_very much like,_ ** **again.”**

Eddie relaxed with a smile, letting all of Venom’s gentle touches wash over him. They lowered their head and rested it under his neck, snuggling against his collarbone. Eddie kept one hand on them while the other played with a nubile tendril weaving between his fingers.

“But not tonight,” he suddenly added in case Venom got any ideas. “I’m not a teenager anymore. And besides, it’s probably a mess down there.” He hated to think of how sticky it was getting the longer they lay there.

**“No, no mess,”** Venom piped up.

“What?”

**“Sucked you clean the moment you came. Was very tasty.”**

“Wha- you- Veeee!” he whined, throwing his head back against the armrest, totally flustered.

**“What’s the problem?”** they asked, raising their head, confused by Eddie’s humiliation. 

“I can’t believe you- you-! You goddamned  _ swallowed! _ ” 

**“Why wouldn’t I? It’s a part of you, afterall.”**

Eddie looked down at them completely baffled. It then clicked for Venom that he didn’t understand just how totally succulent he was to them. 

The terrible dichotomy with being a perfect match with a host was that their body was the ultimate meal to a Klyntar. The memory of how delicious Eddie’s organs were often played on Venom’s tongue, and while the temptation for a nibble was overwhelming at times, they would never give in to it again. He was too wonderful for that.

But Eddie’s seminal fluid had been an extraordinary discovery. It was  _ just so Eddie _ . It was filled with all the amazing things that made him so divine to their taste buds, and he didn’t even know it! He didn’t know what a banquet he provided for them, how delectable his moods and hormones were to them, how they enthusiastically drank it all in. And now had something new to aim for. While they were completely able to go straight to the source for their newest favourite food, they had already decided that the experience was part of the meal, and seeing Eddie come undone like that had been an unexpected pleasure they didn’t know they wanted. Maybe one day they would tell him that.

“You are so weird,” Eddie finally said, rubbing the top of their head.

**“But you like it,”** Venom countered.

“Of course I like it.”

He wrapped his arms around them and hugged them to his chest with a sigh. They lapsed into silence, returning to the stillness of the apartment. What an insane evening it had been. But with the air finally clear it felt like things were going to start moving forward. Eddie had no idea where this path would take them, and neither did Venom, and maybe that didn’t really matter. The future was a long way away, and right now both of them just wanted to enjoy the present. 

A shiver ran down Eddie’s arms.

**“You are cold.”**

With the heat of desire long since quenched, the sweaty state of his body was quickly becoming chilled in the cool air.

“I’m fine,” he replied, brushing off their concern. “Don’t wanna move just yet.” 

**“Then we shall help.”**

Warmth suddenly bloomed all over his torso, as hot as sinking into a freshly run bath. He hummed out a moan, his skin enveloped in darkness as Venom covered his top half, and even wrapped around the back of his head like the hoodie. It was just as perfect as last time, just as cosy and tight, but now Venom didn’t have to pretend to be clothing. It was too dim to really see what they had done, but he could very clearly make out the actual outline of his arms, so it had to be a fairly thin layer. It did the job just as wonderfully.

“Thank you,” he said, giving them another squeeze. But there was one thing missing. One thing he had wanted last time, but didn’t have the guts to ask about it. He had to find the courage now, there was no need to keep it hidden. “Do you think you could- could you maybe…?”

**“Anything.”**

He hesitated for a moment. “You see, I can’t… I want…” He shook his head, slightly frustrated. “This is fantastic, but I can’t  _ feel _ you. Do you understand?”

They did, completely. It didn’t take much effort to make a few adjustments, and the results were worth the look on Eddie’s face. As far as he was concerned, he was now wrapped up in dozens of tentacles, all shifting and moving slowly, alternating pressure all over his skin, and squeezed together to keep in the warmth. He moaned again. It was possibly better than the massage and infinitely more relaxing.

He wasn’t sure how long they lay like that. Any concept of time had departed ages ago, but a thought had been forming in his mind.

“What about you?” he eventually asked.

**“What about me?”** Venom replied, perfectly content nestled in the valley of Eddie’s pecs. 

“Well, I feel like I should reciprocate. I mean, that’s what partner’s do. They make each other feel good.”

**“I feel good when you feel good. And you felt** **_very_ ** **good tonight.”**

“Yeah, I know,” Eddie smiled. “But is there something I can do just for you? Something that you like?”

Venom raised their head a little, pondering. There were plenty of things they liked - chocolate, reality TV, hunting out criminals in the dark and munching on their heads. But they got the sense that Eddie was trying to offer them the same sort of pleasure that they had given him. That wasn’t possible due to them not having a nervous system, but a solution presented itself. 

**“There is one thing I can think of.”**

“Yeah, whatever, name it.”

He was so adorably eager. 

**“The night I was your hoodie, you did this thing with your hands. Sort of a pushing motion? It’s hard to explain.”**

Eddie knew what they meant though. He had wondered a little about it since then, trying to figure if he really had been the cause. He hoped he was.

“You mean inside the pocket?”

**“Yes, yes!”**

He beamed a little at how excited they were.

“Well give me something to work with then.”

Venom wiggled down a little further so that Eddie could comfortably rest his hands on his stomach. More of them bubbled up to surface, and Eddie dove right in. He kneaded them like dough, pushing and spreading his fingers, squeezing them in his fists, and pressing bits of them together. His body was filled with pleased rumbles. His makeshift shirt thrummed with joy and sent vibrations right down to his toes. 

“That good, bud?” he chuckled, Venom’s bliss seeping in and mixing with his own. It created a wonderfully heady cocktail.

**_Peeeeerfect,_ ** came Venom’s distracted answer. Oh what fun the two of them were going to have. They could barely wait.

They really did love evenings like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we reach the end. Hope you all had fun. I don't think I'll ever stop writing these two. Now if only I could get a move on with my other Symbrock WIPs.
> 
> Kudos is great, but comments make my day. :)


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